There are two north–south arteries in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

named 7th Street that are differentiated by the quadrants of the city in which they are located.

History

Historically, 7th Street was a main north–south road in Washington, D.C., and the main route for travelers and farmers coming into the city from the north. This is evident in its intersection with Mount Vernon Square, a historically important public space, and the original Central Market, located at the intersection of Seventh,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, and Indiana Avenues. The space occupied by this Central Market is now the Navy Memorial. The corridor from here west along F Street and north along Seventh is the city's historic retail shopping district with its large department stores and specialty stores. Seventh Street forms major intersections at Pennsylvania Avenue, E Street NW, H Street NW, K Street NW, and Massachusetts Avenue.

7th Street SW and NW

7th Street SW begins at Water Street, near the banks of the Washington Channel. It crosses above Interstate 395 approximately two blocks before it intersects with

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

avenues near the

U.S. Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the president of the United States a ...

and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development buildings, which are located across the street from each other on 7th Street SW. Continuing north, 7th Street crosses the

National Mall The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institu ...

, where it becomes 7th Street NW. In this southernmost segment of 7th Street NW, it is the main north–south thoroughfare in Penn Quarter and

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

. Farther north, it crosses New York Avenue at

Mount Vernon Square Mount Vernon Square is a town square, city square and neighborhood in the Northwest (Washington, D.C.), Northwest Address (geography)#Quadrants, quadrant of Washington, D.C. The square is located where the following streets would otherwise inters ...

and then crosses Rhode Island Avenue where it also becomes

U.S. Route 29 U.S. Route 29 or U.S. Highway 29 (US 29) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs for from Pensacola, Florida, to Ellicott City, Maryland, just west of Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, in the Eastern United Stat ...

. North of

Florida Avenue Florida Avenue is a major street in Washington, D.C. It was originally named Boundary Street, because it formed the northern boundary of the Federal City under the 1791 L'Enfant Plan. With the growth of the city beyond its original borders, B ...

, 7th Street remains U.S. 29 but becomes a diagonal and continues as

Georgia Avenue Georgia Avenue is a major north-south artery in Northwest, Washington, D.C., Northwest Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County, Maryland. In Washington, D.C., and for a short distance in Silver Spring, Maryland, Georgia Avenue is also U.S. Rout ...

. Between

Pennsylvania Avenue Pennsylvania Avenue is a primarily diagonal street in Washington, D.C. that connects the United States Capitol with the White House and then crosses northwest Washington, D.C. to Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown. Traveling through So ...

and Mount Vernon Square, 7th Street has a northbound

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

lane. The corresponding southbound lane is on 9th Street. 7th Street begins again at Quincy Street NW extending north about to near the Maryland border, passing through Sherman Circle. North of Independence Avenue, 7th Street/Georgia Avenue is part of the National Highway System.

7th Street SE and NE

A second set of 7th Streets lie in the eastern quadrants of the city, parallel to the western ones, in several discontinuous segments. The longest section begins at M Street SE, just north of the

Washington Navy Yard The Washington Navy Yard (WNY) is a ceremonial and administrative center for the United States Navy, located in the federal national capital city of Washington, D.C. (federal District of Columbia). It is the oldest shore establishment / base of ...

. It continues north through the neighborhood of

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...

. When 7th Street SE crosses

East Capitol Street East Capitol Street is a major street that divides the northeast and southeast quadrants of Washington, D.C. It runs due east from the United States Capitol to the DC-Maryland border. The street is uninterrupted until Lincoln Park then cont ...

it becomes 7th Street NE and continues due north, ending at Florida Avenue, just south of

Gallaudet University Gallaudet University ( ) is a private federally chartered university in Washington, D.C., for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a grammar school for both deaf and blind children. It was the first school ...

. Shorter segments of the 7th Street SE exist south of the

Anacostia River The Anacostia River is a river in the Mid-Atlantic states, Mid Atlantic region of the United States. It flows from Prince George's County, Maryland, Prince George's County in Maryland into Washington, D.C., where it joins with the Washington Ch ...

, while parts of 7th Street NE are further north in the Brookland neighborhood.

References

{{authority control 07 U.S. Route 29