Dave Thomas Circle is the unofficial

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

for a small triangular

block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...

in Northeast Washington, D.C., and the surrounding streets and traffic pattern. It is bounded by

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 ...

, New York Avenue and First Street Northeast, with O Street Northeast and Eckington Place Northeast also terminating along the block. It is located on the eastern edge of the

L'Enfant Plan The L'Enfant Plan for the city of Washington is the urban plan developed in 1791 by Major Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant for George Washington, the first president of the United States. History L'Enfant was a French engineer who served in ...

Background

The circle is a result of a gap in the original

. The plan ended where east-west O Street and north-south First Street reached Boundary Street (now

), where they met

Tiber Creek Tiber Creek or Tyber Creek, originally named Goose Creek, is a tributary of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. It was a free-flowing creek until 1815, when it was channeled to become part of the Washington City Canal. Presently, it flows un ...

, which was eventually buried and culverted over. As development increased over time, traffic congestion increased. Until 2021, the only property on the block was a

Wendy's Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas (1932–2002) on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy's was t ...

fast food restaurant franchise and its parking lot, leading to the unofficial Dave Thomas Circle name, after the late Dave Thomas, who founded Wendy's in 1969 and served as its long-time spokesman. A 2010 project by the city's Department of Transportation made each of the streets one-way around the block, similar to a

traffic circle A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford Eng ...

. The department calls the traffic pattern a "virtual circle." In 2019, Washington, D.C. Mayor

Muriel Bowser Muriel Elizabeth Bowser (born August 2, 1972) is an American politician serving since 2015 as the eighth mayor of the District of Columbia. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously represented the 4th ward as a member of the Counci ...

asked for $35 million for the city to buy the Wendy's and reconfigure the intersection to eliminate Dave Thomas Circle and make it better for motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists. In 2021, the District Department of Transportation acquired the Wendy's restaurant and property through

eminent domain Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...

to enable the city to demolish the building, rebuild the intersection and eliminate the circle, with the exact design yet to be determined. The city plans to start construction in early 2022. The restaurant closed on September 21, 2021, with the franchisee vacating the building fully by September 30.

References

{{Wendy's Northeast (Washington, D.C.) Squares, plazas, and circles in Washington, D.C.