More powerful than the locomotives last night at Union Station were 200 CBRE brokers and friends who gathered in East Hall to celebrate the firm's 100th anniversary. Regional head John Germano, who was just a tyke when the company was founded at the time of the great San Francisco earthquake, said real estate here continues to look strong but promised to celebrate every 100 years no matter what. Torto Wheaton Research guruCraig Thomas so enthralled the group that it listened intently even as his presentation slipped into mealtime. Maybe because his theme was so positive: that despite headlines about a consumer spending and housing slowdown, business profits are strong and therefore the region's office and industrial market look excellent. Pictures from the event tell more of the story, with the help of silly captions:

After calculating the additional leasing stream that the East Hall could command if it were converted to a Whole Foods and not rented out to parties like CBRE's,America's Capital Partners regional co-heads Brian Katz and Doug Fleit try to keep poker faces even though they have just phoned in an unsolicited bid to GSA to buyUnion Station.

Although the heads of CBRE's two offices in the Washington region, Brad Flickinger, left, and Ernie Jarvis, are often confused for each other, sophisticated observers find that the trick to telling them apart is the much wilder shirts favored by Flickinger, head of the laid back Northern Virginia office.

Brilliant real estate investor Renay Regardie emerges from the Torto symposium carefully assessing statements by the speaker about absorption rates and cap compression levels, while husband and former publisherBill Regardie wonders when the food is being served.

CBRE ace broker Cathy Delcoco waves goodbye as President for the Eastern Division Jim Reid tells her she is so far above quota, she can leave the party early.

Regional head John Germano, right, boldly predicted to crowd that DC buildings will hit $900 a square foot sometime in 2007, but former Freddie Mac chief credit officer, and now Mercantile Real Estate Advisors capital markets head Paul McDermott reassures him that forward looking statements unrelated to a company's financials are fine, especially if no one remembers them.