The newest Apple Store in San Francisco is an experiment fusing retail with an open plaza and event space. The same model could be coming to Washington, D.C., if Apple makes a permanent home at the Carnegie Library. Apple made the suggestion during talks with the quasi-independent Events DC, the conventions agency for the District, as first reported in The Washington Post.
The San Francisco space, opens on Union Square and offers public Wi-Fi, concerts and art installations, all sponsored by Apple. It's a clever way to get people to hang around, and perhaps make a purchase or two they might not have otherwise. Apple is shifting away from its signature glass boxes in general, opting to adapt to historic buildings in cities like London and Paris, including icons like Grand Central Terminal in New York City.
The Carnegie Library would have to be a different kind of set up from San Francisco though, centered as it on a kind of island lawn, and 63,000-square-feet of space is more than would really make sense for just an Apple Store. The question is whether there's a mix of Apple Store and event space that would meld with the century-old building.
It's all speculation right now. Events DC declined to comment and while we've reached out to Apple, the company has so far not made any public comment on the report. In terms of pure retail, an Apple Store in that area makes a lot of sense. The only one in D.C. is in Georgetown, not easily accessible by Metro. There are a couple more in Arlington and Bethesda, but none readily accessible to central D.C.
There's the added complication of how the Library is run to consider too. It's publicly owned, relying on tax dollars from hotel taxes to operate. That means city officials have to approve any deal, with all that entails. Other projects have failed to make it through those hoops, including a failed music museum and an aborted attempt to move the Spy Museum to the Library.
