For more than 10 years, The Landing in Crystal City was a cornerstone of the DMV board game community.
I used to attend Friday board game nights at the Landing in the Crystal City underground starting in 2014. There was a large seating area with space for around 100 people, and it was often full from the board game nights and other people who met there. It was a great centrally located place with free parking, an indoor connection to the Crystal City Metro station, and a variety of food options indoors. Unfortunately, the indoor restaurants started slowly closing, and all the tables and chairs were removed in August 2024.
Many other groups also used the Landing as a community gathering space. In addition to being centrally located, it was a great third space due to the fact that it was open late, and people could freely show up without being pressured to pay. However, people would often buy dinner or snacks there due to the variety of low cost food options. While a variety of new restaurants have opened up in the past few years in Crystal City, they either have limited seating space or they are too expensive to be community gathering spaces.
In 2002, I walked through the underground mall at Crystal City and ended up eating lunch at the food court that later became The Landing. While I was interested in the idea of an underground mall, I felt like the mall was somewhat old and unappealing.
Unfortunately, the Landing as a public space started to decline as restaurants nearby closed, including fast food places where people could buy dinner or a snack. Also, tables and shares slowly started to be removed. One major step in this decline was in 2018 when an area near the Landing with some seating closed off. This area was sometimes used during Friday events when space at the Landing was limited. In addition to a decline in food options, tables and chairs started to get removed. In 2021 I ended up becoming a host for the Friday game night, and ran into challenges with the ongoing decline.
Also, the decline in availability of public spaces across the DC area caused challenges. The Landing became increasingly crowded on Friday evenings due to a lack of alternative options. While the Landing became more crowded, more and chairs started to be removed, which made it harder to host events there. Although there were still were bars and restaurants nearby, expensive food prices, limited opening hours, or limited table space were issues. On the other hand the Landing was open past midnight, and people didn’t need to spend money on expensive food.
I didn’t end up going back for a long time until around 2014 when I ate at a nearby restaurant. I noticed the food court was renovated into a place called The Landing with many tables and chairs. While I was looking to play more board games, I did not initially view The Landing as a place to play them.
Shortly afterwards, I started going to Thursday game nights at a board game store called Labyrinth Games & Puzzles. At one of the events, I played Kingdom Builder with someone who mentioned there was a board game event at the Landing every Friday. The next day, I went to the Landing and played Castles of Burgundy. I had a good time with the people I met and I started going there every Friday.
The group was significantly larger than I expected and there were a variety of games being played. Regulars were very welcoming to people who were new, and I was happy that I could show up late and still join a game. Around 50 or more people would typically show up each Friday. The Landing as located was at a centrally located place with free parking, an indoor connection to the Crystal City Metro station, and a variety of food options. There was a large seating area that could fit around 100 people that was not very crowded, and we were able to stay there past midnight.
In the spring of 2024, it was announced that the remaining stores and restaurants in the Crystal City Underground would close. I tried contacting the landlord for more information, and work with them to find an alternative space. They did not respond to me. On August 30th, 2024, I found out that all the tables and chairs were removed from The Landing shortly before I was going to host a board game event there.
Story submitted by Bharat Ponnaluri
