With all the press about the closure of Automattic’s office, or as we affectionately called it “Hawthorne” I wanted to take a moment to thank Matt, Toni and the entire Automattic family for the oppertunity to work on this project.
During design development I had Field of Dreams visions for Hawthorne. “If you build it, they will come.” I imagined a pilgrimage of Automatticians and the WordPress community descending on the space. A physical hub for the exchange of ideas which were already common place in the strong online WordPress community. We even made a video to advertise the space for internal team meetups!
However, like so many long distance relationships, time zones and costs became too great, and our once regular Skype video chats dotted with high intensity in-person get togethers became distant smiley face emoji’s and talk of plans that would never be.
After the initial construction was complete, we embarked on the process of upgrading our space, with the goal of improving every facet of the building to allow it to effortlessly transition between a variety of needs. Hawthorne performed beautifully, from events for 500+ people to coworking for just a few. It was during this process of incremental and perpetual improvement that I learned so much about processes and techniques for enhancing the human experience inside of a physical space.
Although I am sad to see my baby close, I am so thankful for all the people, relationships, and great work that went into Hawthorne. Like everything in life, its always about the people! Thanks, W
Linsoa 
2013’s Hawthorne GM was the best one EVER. Thanks for so much awesomeness Warren, we miss you!!!