Avenida Massachusetts (Washington, DC)

Massachusetts Avenue
Construcción
Massachusetts Avenue SE Massachusetts Avenue NE Massachusetts Avenue NW
Mapa de ruta de Massachusetts Avenue
Mantenido por	DDOT
Ancho	160 pies (49 m)
Localización	Washington, DC , EE . UU.
Coordenadas	38 ° 54′50 ″ N 77 ° 3′6 ″ W / 38.91389°N 77.05167°W / 38.91389; -77.05167
Extremo este	Avenida Sur
Uniones principales	Círculo Randle Lincoln Park Parque Stanton Columbus Circle North Capitol Street Calle I-395 / H Plaza Mount Vernon Estados Unidos 29 (calle 11) Thomas Circle Scott Circle Círculo de Dupont Sheridan Circle Rock Creek y Potomac Parkway Avenida de Wisconsin Círculo de barrio
West End	Círculo de Westmoreland
Terminación	1871


Distrito histórico de Massachusetts Avenue
Registro Nacional de Lugares Históricos de EE. UU.
Distrito histórico de EE. UU.

El Miller House , una propiedad que contribuye al distrito histórico Massachusetts Avenue

Localización	Ambos lados de Massachusetts Avenue entre 17th Street y Observatory Circle , NW
Coordenadas	38 ° 54′50 ″ N 77 ° 3′6 ″ W / 38.91389°N 77.05167°W / 38.91389; -77.05167 Coordenadas: 38 ° 54′50 ″ N 77 ° 3′6 ″ W / 38.91389°N 77.05167°W / 38.91389; -77.05167
Área	81 acres (33 ha)
Construido	1871
Arquitecto	Múltiple
Estilo arquitectónico	Victoriano tardío, Bellas artes
NRHP referencia No.	74002166 ^[1]
Agregado a NRHP	22 de octubre de 1974

Massachusetts Avenue es una importante carretera transversal diagonal en Washington, DC , y el distrito histórico de Massachusetts Avenue es un distrito histórico que incluye parte de él.

Apareciendo en el plano original de Peter Charles L'Enfant , Massachusetts Avenue cruza tres de los cuatro cuadrantes de Washington . ^[2] Se cruza con todas las calles principales de norte a sur y pasa por numerosos puntos de referencia de Washington. Es un hito en sí mismo, considerado durante mucho tiempo el límite norte del centro de la ciudad , así como el hogar de Embassy Row en Washington .

Massachusetts Avenue está unida con Pennsylvania Avenue como la carretera más ancha del distrito, con 160 pies (49 m). Las dos carreteras corren en paralelo a través de gran parte de la ciudad, Massachusetts, a unas siete cuadras al norte de Pensilvania. Massachusetts Avenue fue durante mucho tiempo la principal calle residencial de Washington, ya que Pensilvania fue una vez su dirección comercial más solicitada. Ambas calles recibieron el nombre de estados con roles prominentes en la Revolución Americana : Massachusetts y Pensilvania .

The historic district is an 81-acre (33 ha) area that includes 150 contributing buildings and 3 contributing structures. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. It includes multiple properties that are individually listed on the National Register.^[1]

Route description[edit]

Massachusetts Avenue at the intersection of 3rd and H Streets, NW

The main section of Massachusetts Avenue begins at 19th Street Southeast, just to the west of the former District of Columbia General Hospital site and one block north of Congressional Cemetery. At elevation with respect to the hospital, Massachusetts Avenue commands a view of the Anacostia River. It proceeds in a northwesterly direction crosstown. At Lincoln Park the road enters Northeast D.C. and the neighborhood of Capitol Hill. After briefly converging with Columbus Circle as it curves around Union Station, Massachusetts enters Northwest D.C. in a rapidly changing neighborhood which has transitioned from earlier blight and decay to in the 21st century developing numerous high-rise apartment complexes. In the tradition of the acronym SoHo, realtors sometimes give this area the moniker NoMa (North of Massachusetts Avenue).

It intersects with Interstate 395 (which runs underground at that point) at H Street NW, and passes over Mount Vernon Square in front of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Continuing northwest, Massachusetts enters an underpass below Thomas Circle at 14th and M Streets NW, before curving around Scott Circle at 16th and N Streets NW; this is considered the starting point of Embassy Row.

Massachusetts Avenue passes through the inner ring of Dupont Circle and curves north at Sheridan Circle, paralleling Rock Creek to Belmont Road NW. After crossing Rock Creek over the Charles C. Glover Bridge, it curves around the United States Naval Observatory and Number One Observatory Circle, the official residence of the Vice President of the United States, which forms the southwest boundary of the Massachusetts Heights neighborhood. The Washington National Cathedral, located at the intersection of Mass and Wisconsin Avenues, is usually considered the end of Embassy Row.

At Ward Circle, Massachusetts delineates the American University Park neighborhood from Spring Valley, passing to the north of American University. It crosses the Washington-Montgomery County, Maryland border at Westmoreland Circle. In Maryland, the road continues signed as State Highway 396, meandering through residential sections of Bethesda until terminating at Goldsboro Road (Maryland State Highway 614). Another section of Massachusetts Avenue, discontinuous from the one described above, lies on the east side of the Anacostia River. That section extends from 30th Street SE near District of Columbia Route 295, to Southern Avenue SE at the border between D.C. and Prince George's County.

Other notable institutions located on Massachusetts Avenue include the Postal Square Building (which houses the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Postal Museum), The Heritage Foundation, Georgetown University Law Center, the Islamic Center of Washington, the Cato Institute, the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), the Brookings Institution, the Peterson Institute, St. Nicholas Cathedral, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Numerous embassies and residences are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation makes its home on Massachusetts Avenue.

Residential area along Massachusetts Avenue on Capitol Hill.

Intersection of 13th Street and Massachusetts Avenue, NW near Thomas Circle

History[edit]

The track of the avenue was not paved until the administration of Alexander Robey Shepherd in the early 1870s. It was extended beyond Boundary Road (now Florida Avenue) in the 1880s, and beyond Rock Creek up to the District line after 1900. Residential development along Massachusetts Avenue accelerated in the 1870s, mostly around the circles located west of 9th Street NW. These brick and brownstone structures reflected the Queen Anne and Richardsonian Romanesque styles in vogue at the time. Later, luxurious Georgian Revival and Beaux-Arts mansions inhabited by wealthy and influential Washingtonians sprouted along the boulevard. The section between Sheridan Circle and Scott Circle became known as "Millionaires' Row".

Private residences and embassies located on Massachusetts Avenue in the Sheridan-Kalorama neighborhood

The Great Depression forced many to relinquish their homes on Millionaires' Row. After World War II, Massachusetts Avenue was seen as less fashionable than newer areas such as upper 16th Street. Many residences were sold and demolished to make way for office buildings, particularly around Dupont Circle and to its east. Many others, however, survived as embassies and society houses; the former Millionaires' Row is today well known as Embassy Row.

Several overlapping historic district have been created to preserve the character of the remaining neighborhoods. The Massachusetts Avenue Historic District encompasses all buildings which front the road between 17th Street and Observatory Circle NW.

Transit[edit]

While no Washington Metro lines run along Massachusetts Avenue, the Metrobus N routes serve upper Northwest while a patchwork of routes serve Downtown, Northeast, and Southeast.

Metrobus[edit]

The following Metrobus routes travel along the street (listed from west to east):

N4 (Dupont Circle to Westmoreland Circle)
N6 (Dupont Circle to Westmoreland Circle, making a clockwise-only loop each direction between Idaho Avenue westbound/Cathedral Avenue eastbound and Ward Circle)
N2 (Dupont Circle to Idaho Avenue westbound/Cathedral Avenue eastbound, crossing again at Ward Circle)
80 (North Capitol Street to 2nd Street NW westbound/H Street NW eastbound)
D6 (Stanton Park to North Capitol St.)
X8 (Stanton Park to Columbus Circle)
96 (D.C. General Hospital to Lincoln Park)
M6 (Alabama Ave to Southern Ave)

D.C. Circulator[edit]

The D.C. Circulator travels along the street:

Georgetown-Union Station (Columbus Circle to Mount Vernon Square)

Far western and eastern ends[edit]

Ride On Route 29 serves Massachusetts Avenue in Maryland from Westmoreland Circle to the avenue's terminus at Goldsboro Road.

The M6, which travels from the Potomac Avenue Metro station to Fairfax Village, runs along Massachusetts Avenue between Alabama Avenue and Southern Avenue.

Washington Metro[edit]

The following Metrorail stations have stops located near Massachusetts Avenue:

Dupont Circle
Red Line
Mount Vernon Square
Green Line

Yellow Line
Union Station
Red Line
Stadium-Armory
  Blue Line

  Orange Line

  Silver Line

Commuter rail[edit]

Union Station lies on Massachusetts Avenue at Columbus Circle, and it is served by Amtrak, MARC, and Virginia Railway Express trains.

Amtrak:
  Acela
  Capitol Limited
  Cardinal
  Carolinian
  Crescent
  Northeast Regional
  Palmetto
  Silver Meteor
  Silver Star
  Vermonter
MARC:
  Brunswick Line
  Camden Line
  Penn Line
VRE:
Fredericksburg Line
Manassas Line

References[edit]

^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
^ L'Enfant identified himself as "Peter Charles L'Enfant" during most of his life, while residing in the United States. He wrote this name on his "Plan of the city intended for the permanent seat of the government of t(he) United States ...." (Washington, D.C.) and on other legal documents. However, during the early 1900s, a French ambassador to the United States, Jean Jules Jusserand, popularized the use of L'Enfant's birth name, "Pierre Charles L'Enfant". (Reference: Bowling, Kenneth R. (2002). Peter Charles L'Enfant: Vision, Honor, and Male Friendship in the Early American Republic. George Washington University, Washington, D.C. ISBN 978-0-9727611-0-9). The United States Code states in 40 U.S.C. 3309: "(a) In General.—The purposes of this chapter shall be carried out in the District of Columbia as nearly as may be practicable in harmony with the plan of Peter Charles L'Enfant." The National Park Service identifies L'Enfant as Major Peter Charles L'Enfant and as Major Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant on its website.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Massachusetts Avenue (Washington, D.C.).

DC Preservation League. Massachusetts Avenue Historic District. DC Historic Sites.
"Massachusetts Avenue Historic District". District of Columbia Office of Planning.
Washington Places: Massachusetts Avenue at the Wayback Machine (archived April 25, 2015), a project at the University of Virginia School of Architecture
National Park Service: Massachusetts Avenue Historic District
Embassy.org Embassy Row Tour

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.

[2] L'Enfant identified himself as "Peter Charles L'Enfant" during most of his life, while residing in the United States. He wrote this name on his "Plan of the city intended for the permanent seat of the government of t(he) United States ...." (Washington, D.C.) and on other legal documents. However, during the early 1900s, a French ambassador to the United States, Jean Jules Jusserand, popularized the use of L'Enfant's birth name, "Pierre Charles L'Enfant". (Reference: Bowling, Kenneth R. (2002). Peter Charles L'Enfant: Vision, Honor, and Male Friendship in the Early American Republic. George Washington University, Washington, D.C. ISBN 978-0-9727611-0-9). The United States Code states in 40 U.S.C. 3309: "(a) In General.—The purposes of this chapter shall be carried out in the District of Columbia as nearly as may be practicable in harmony with the plan of Peter Charles L'Enfant." The National Park Service identifies L'Enfant as Major Peter Charles L'Enfant and as Major Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant on its website.

[1]

vteStreets of Washington, D.C.
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