This is the last in a series reflecting on parts of Dupont Circle that are ripe for improvements.

I can’t figure out why there’s a parking lot right next to one of the city’s busiest Metro stations, in a neighborhood with some of the city’s highest rents. I envision a glamorous building matching the height of the hotel across the circle instead; it would add so much to the neighborhood.

The buildings on the left belong to PNC Bank, which recently started subleasing the old Connecticut Avenue storefronts to other businesses.

The parking lot is a small space, but a signature tower against 20th Street and Massachusetts Avenue facing Dupont Circle would look great here. As either residential or office use, it would add density and more people to contribute to the neighborhood.

The Q Street entrance of the Dupont Circle Metro station is one of the more unusual in the system, and leads to one of the city’s best neighborhoods. That entrance would make a great perch for a signature rooftop café.

Photo by the author.

The entrance sits in a wide circle between Connecticut Avenue and 20th Street,with one of the system’s longest escalators placed next to a sloped surface with sickly plants. It makes for a dramatic (albeit overly slow) entry to the neighborhood. Metro has already decided to cover their outdoor escalators, but the standard design won’t fit here, so we need to think big.

This corner deserves more activity. Why not build a café over the round entrance, with a circular patio on the perimeter that would give folks a view of comings and goings?

The model for this cafe would be Café Kranzler, Berlin´s most famous café. Flickr users paula soler-moya, photos4dreamz, phototram, and bfranca33 can show you what this café looks like.

The Dupont Circle fountain should have underwater lights under each of its three cascades. It would make the park beautiful at night. Currently, the only lights are the lamp posts circling the plaza.

Photo by the author.

This is among the city’s better fountains, and one of the most prominent ones off the Mall. It is an anchor to Embassy Row, and sits at the nexus of five streets. The plaza is filled with people at night. The fountain deserves to be lit.

Compare it with other cities’ great fountains: the Trevi Fountain (lit!), the Fontaines de la Concorde (lit!), the Buckingham Fountain (lit!), and the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc (lit!). If I had one wish for my neighborhood, it would be to add underwater lights to the Dupont Circle fountain.

I Wish This Were… is a series where contributors imagine a better use for vacant properties and poorly-conceived public spaces in the DC area.