Connecticut Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the
Northwest quadrant of
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, and suburban
Montgomery County, Maryland. It is one of the diagonal avenues radiating from the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
, and the segment south 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, Bound ...
was one of the original streets in
Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant's plan for Washington. A five-mile segment north of
Rock Creek was built in the 1890s by a
real-estate developer
Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others. R ...
.
History
Connecticut Avenue was first extended north from Rock Creek around 1890 as part of an audacious plan to create a
streetcar suburb—today's
Chevy Chase, Maryland—several miles distant from built-up Washington, D.C. The area northwest of today's Calvert Street NW was largely farmland when
Francis Newlands
Francis Griffith Newlands (August 28, 1846December 24, 1917) was a United States representative and Senator from Nevada and a member of the Democratic Party.
A supporter of westward expansion, he helped pass the Newlands Reclamation Act of 1 ...
, a sitting Congressman from Nevada, quietly acquired more than 1,700 acres in Northwest D.C. and Maryland along a five-mile stretch from today's
Woodley Park
Woodley Park is a neighborhood in Northwest, Washington, DC. It is bounded on the north by Woodley Road and Klingle Road, on the east by the National Zoo and Rock Creek Park, on the south by Calvert Street, on the southwest by Cleveland Avenue, a ...
neighborhood in D.C. to Jones Bridge Road in Maryland's
Montgomery County.
Meanwhile, he acquired control of the nascent
Rock Creek Railway The Rock Creek Railway was one of the first electric streetcar companies in Washington, D.C., and the first to extend into Maryland. It was incorporated in 1888, started operations in 1890, and by 1892 ran some five miles from the Cardoza/Shaw nei ...
, which had a charter to build a streetcar line in the District. Beginning in 1888, Newlands and his partners graded a roadway, laid streetcar track down its center, and erected a
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
over a Rock Creek tributary. The road proceeded in a straight, 3.3-mile line north-northwest from today's Calvert Street to today's
Chevy Chase Circle
Chevy Chase Circle is a traffic circle (or roundabout) straddling the border of Chevy Chase, Washington, D.C. and Chevy Chase, Maryland. It sits upon the convergence of Western Avenue, Grafton Street, Magnolia Parkway, Chevy Chase Parkway NW, and ...
, then another 1.85 miles due north to today's Chevy Chase Lake Drive. The streetcars began operating along the line's full length in 1892, connecting to their terminus at 18th and U Streets NW via the railway's iron trestle across the
Rock Creek gorge.
In 1907, the
Taft Bridge
The Taft Bridge (also known as the Connecticut Avenue Bridge or William Howard Taft Bridge) is a historic bridge located in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. It carries Connecticut Avenue over the Rock Creek gorge, including Rock Cree ...
across Rock Creek connected the southern and northern segments of Connecticut Avenue.
In 1932, the Newlands bridge over the tributary was replaced by the current
Klingle Valley Bridge
The Kingle Valley Bridge, officially known as the Connecticut Avenue Bridge, is an Art Deco steel-arch bridge located near the National Zoological Park on Connecticut Avenue, Northwest in Washington, D.C. The bridge crosses Klingle Valley, runn ...
.
Route description
District of Columbia
Connecticut Avenue begins just north of the White House at
Lafayette Square. It is interrupted by
Farragut Square
Farragut Square is a city square in Washington, D.C.'s Ward 2 of the District of Columbia, Ward 2. It is bordered by K Street (Washington, D.C.), K Street Northwest, Washington, D.C., NW to the north, I Street NW to the south, on the east and wes ...
. North of Farragut Square and
K Street, Connecticut Avenue is one of the major streets in
downtown Washington, with high-end restaurants, historical buildings such as
Sedgwick Gardens
Sedgwick Gardens, located at 3726 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, is an apartment building on the southwest corner of Connecticut Avenue and Sedgwick Street in Northwest Washington D.C. It is located two blocks from the Cleveland Park Me ...
, hotels, and shopping.
As Connecticut Avenue approaches the
Dupont Circle
Dupont Circle (or DuPont Circle) is a traffic circle, park, neighborhood and historic district in Northwest Washington, D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th Street NW to the east, 22nd Street NW t ...
neighborhood, it splits at N Street into a through roadway and
service roadways. The through roadway tunnels under Dupont Circle, while the service roadways intersect the outer roadway of the circle. The through roadway and service roadways rejoin at R Street. Originally, there was no tunnel, and all vehicular traffic on Connecticut Avenue went through the circle. The tunnel was built in 1949.
After crossing Florida Avenue near the
Hilton Washington
The Washington Hilton is a hotel in Washington, D.C. It is located at 1919 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., roughly at the boundaries of the Kalorama, Dupont Circle, and Adams Morgan neighborhoods.
The Washington Hilton, located on the former site of ...
hotel, Connecticut Avenue narrows and winds between the
Kalorama neighborhoods. (The
Kalorama Triangle district extends eastward from Connecticut, while
Sheridan-Kalorama
Kalorama is a neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C., United States. It includes the Kalorama Triangle Historic District and Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District. It is named after the Kalorama mansion.
Kalorama Triangle is bordered by C ...
lies to the west.) The avenue then crosses
Rock Creek Park
Rock Creek Park is a large urban park that bisects the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. The park was created by an Act of Congress in 1890 and today is administered by the National Park Service. In addition to the park proper, the Rock Cr ...
on the
William Howard Taft Bridge and goes through upper
Northwest Washington, D.C., including the
Woodley Park
Woodley Park is a neighborhood in Northwest, Washington, DC. It is bounded on the north by Woodley Road and Klingle Road, on the east by the National Zoo and Rock Creek Park, on the south by Calvert Street, on the southwest by Cleveland Avenue, a ...
,
Cleveland Park
Cleveland Park is a residential neighborhood in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C.
It is located at and bounded approximately by Rock Creek Park to the east, Wisconsin and Idaho Avenues to the west, Klingle and Woodley Roads to the ...
, Forest Hills, and
Chevy Chase, D.C. neighborhoods. Between Woodley Park and Cleveland Park, Connecticut Avenue is carried over a deep
valley
A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...
on another
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
. Numerous older,
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
high-rise apartment buildings line the 3000 block, with slightly newer apartment buildings in the 4000 and 5000 blocks.
The
National Zoological Park sits halfway between the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan and Cleveland Park
Metro
Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to:
Geography
* Metro (city), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...
stations. A bit further north is the strikingly futuristic
former headquarters of
Intelsat; a bit further south are the landmark Wardman Park
Marriott
Marriott may refer to:
People
*Marriott (surname)
Corporations
* Marriott Corporation, founded as Hot Shoppes, Inc. in 1927; split into Marriott International and Host Marriott Corporation in 1993
* Marriott International, international hote ...
Hotel, the city's largest, and the
Omni Shoreham Hotel
The Omni Shoreham Hotel is a historic resort and convention hotel in Northwest Washington, D.C., built in 1930 and owned by Omni Hotels. It is located one block west of the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and Calvert Street. The hotel is know ...
. This section is also a major commuter route; until 2020, it had
reversible lane
A reversible lane (British English: tidal flow) is a lane in which traffic may travel in either direction, depending on certain conditions. Typically, it is meant to improve traffic flow during rush hours, by having overhead traffic lights and li ...
s along most of its length which operate during the morning and evening rush hours (7:00–9:30 a.m. and 4:00–6:30 p.m.). It connects with the
Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway
The Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, informally called the Rock Creek Parkway, is a parkway maintained by the National Park Service as part of Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. It runs next to the Potomac River and Rock Creek in a generally n ...
via 24th Street. Mid-century era high-rise apartments line the avenue, with elegant, older detached homes on shady side streets.
Connecticut Avenue is an arterial route in the
National Highway System between
K Street and Nebraska Avenue.
Maryland
After passing the main campus of the
University of the District of Columbia
The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is a public historically black land-grant university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1851 and is the only public university in the city. UDC is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall ...
near the
Van Ness metrorail station, Connecticut Avenue exits the District of Columbia at Chevy Chase Circle, which is at the intersection of Connecticut and
Western Avenues. Once entering Maryland, it gains the route designation
Maryland State Highway 185
Maryland Route 185 (MD 185) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Connecticut Avenue, the state highway runs from Chevy Chase Circle at the Washington, D.C. border north to Maryland Route 97, MD 97 in Aspen Hill, Maryland ...
and goes through the
Chevy Chase, Maryland postal area. The former National
4-H
4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times i ...
Youth Conference Center is on this stretch of Connecticut Avenue, as is the
Chevy Chase Club
Chevy Chase () is the name of both a town and an unincorporated census-designated place (Chevy Chase (CDP), Maryland) that straddle the northwest border of Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County, Maryland, United State ...
.
After interchanging with the
Capital Beltway
The Capital Beltway is a Interstate Highway in the Washington metropolitan area that surrounds Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and its inner suburbs in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. It is the basis of the phrase " inside ...
at Exit 33, Connecticut Avenue enters
Kensington, where it is the major north-south street of the central business district.
Connecticut Avenue long ended at University Boulevard (
Maryland State Highway 193). Then Concord Avenue was extended northward to form an extension of Connecticut Avenue that passes through
Wheaton and
Aspen Hill. The state route designation ends at
Georgia Avenue
Georgia Avenue is a major north-south artery in Northwest Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland. Within the District of Columbia and a short distance in Silver Spring, Maryland, Georgia Avenue is also U.S. Route 29. Both Howard Unive ...
(
Maryland State Highway 97
Maryland Route 97 (MD 97) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The route runs from U.S. Route 29 (US 29) in Silver Spring, Montgomery County, north to the Pennsylvania border in Carroll County, where the r ...
). Connecticut Avenue, now simply a local street, continues past Georgia Avenue and ends at Leisure World Boulevard.
Transit service
Metrorail
The
Red Line of the
Washington Metro subway system runs beneath Connecticut Avenue. Metro stations along or near Connecticut Avenue include:
*
Farragut West
*
Farragut North
Farragut North station is an underground Washington Metro station in Washington, D.C., on the Red Line.
Farragut North serves downtown Washington and is located just north of Farragut Square. It lies at the heart of the business district on ...
*
Dupont Circle
Dupont Circle (or DuPont Circle) is a traffic circle, park, neighborhood and historic district in Northwest Washington, D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th Street NW to the east, 22nd Street NW t ...
*
Woodley Park
Woodley Park is a neighborhood in Northwest, Washington, DC. It is bounded on the north by Woodley Road and Klingle Road, on the east by the National Zoo and Rock Creek Park, on the south by Calvert Street, on the southwest by Cleveland Avenue, a ...
*
Cleveland Park
Cleveland Park is a residential neighborhood in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C.
It is located at and bounded approximately by Rock Creek Park to the east, Wisconsin and Idaho Avenues to the west, Klingle and Woodley Roads to the ...
*
Van Ness-UDC
Metrobus
The following
Metrobus routes travel along the street (listed from south to north):
* 42, 43 (Columbia Road to Farragut Square)
* N2, N4, N6 (southbound only, from Dupont Circle to Farragut Square)
* L1, L2 (Chevy Chase Circle to Farragut Square)
* H2 (Van Ness Street to Porter Street)
* L8 (Aspen Hill to Friendship Heights)
Ride On
The following
Ride On routes travel along the street (listed from south to north):
* 1, 11 (East West Highway to Chevy Chase Circle)
* 34 (Bel Pre Road to Veirs Mill Road, and later University Boulevard to Knowles Avenue)
* 41 (Bel Pre Road to Weller Road)
MARC Train
The following
MARC Train
MARC (Maryland Area Rail Commuter) is a commuter rail system in the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. MARC is administered by the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) and operated under contract by Alstom and Amtrak on track owned b ...
stop lies on the street:
*
Kensington Station
Notes
{{Authority control
Roads in Montgomery County, Maryland
Streets in Washington, D.C.
Dupont Circle
Roads with a reversible lane