Truxton Circle, sometimes known as East Shaw, is a neighborhood of

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 ...

, located in Northwest D.C.

History

Truxton Circle is named for the former

Thomas Truxtun Commodore Thomas Truxtun (February 17, 1755 – May 5, 1822) was a United States Navy officer and politician. During the American Revolutionary War, he served as a privateer. Truxtun eventually rose to the rank of Commodore in the late eighteen ...

traffic circle, which was constructed at the intersection 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 ...

and

North Capitol Street North Capitol Street is a street in Washington, D.C. that separates the Northwest, Washington, D.C., Northwest and Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast quadrants of the city. Route description North Capitol Street begins at D Street in Lower ...

around 1900."Truxton Circle Hazard To End This Summer". ''Evening Star''. March 24, 1947. p. 5. The circle was named after US

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

Commodore

. It was part of the Shaw School Urban Renewal Area, later known as the Shaw neighborhood. A fountain was moved from the intersection of

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 M Street NW to Truxton Circle in 1901. A police officer conducted traffic at the traffic circle until a

traffic light Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – also known as robots in South Africa, Zambia, and Namibia – are signaling devices positioned at intersection (road), road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order t ...

was installed in 1925. Because the traffic circle was a site of traffic jams and accidents, it was demolished in 1947 at a cost of $500,000. The adjacent fountain was removed at the same time. The neighborhood of Truxton Circle contains late 19th-century houses and historical schools, including Armstrong Manual Training School (where

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

graduated) and the original Dunbar High School, the first public high school for black students in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Along with Armstrong, the former John Mercer Langston School, John Fox Slater Elementary School, and the Margaret Murray Washington School buildings are all listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Geography

Truxton Circle is bordered by New Jersey Avenue to the west;

to the north; New York Avenue to the south; and

to the east. It is bordered by the following neighborhoods: to the north by Bloomingdale and LeDroit Park; to the east by Eckington; to the west by Shaw and Mt. Vernon Square Historic District; and to the south by

NoMa Noma, NoMa, or NOMA may refer to: Places * NoMa, the area North of Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C., US ** NoMa–Gallaudet U station, on Washington Metro * Noma, Florida, US * NOMA, Manchester, a redevelopment in England * Noma District, ...

. A majority of Truxton Circle is defined as within Ward 5 of the city, with the southeast corner bounded by Kirby St and N St part of Ward 6. After the 2012 redistricting, the Ward 5 portions moved from ANC-5C to ANC-5E. The neighborhood is now served by two Single-Member Districts, 5E05 (south of Q St) and 5E06 (north of Q St and shared with Bloomingdale). The neighborhood has several parks and playgrounds, such as Truxton Park, which lies at the corner of First Street and Florida Avenue, New York Avenue Playground at the corner of First Street and N Street, and Bundy Playground between O Street and P Street.

Civic association

Truxton Circle is home to two civic associations, the Bates Area Civic Association and the Hanover Civic Association.Zafar, Nina.
Truxton Circle: The Old and the New D.C. Mix in a Lively NW Enclave
" ''Washington Post'' (April 4, 2019).

Notes

External links

Truxton Circle Genealogy WebsiteBates Area Civic AssociationHanover Area Civic AssociationWhy Is It Named Truxton Circle? And, Where's the Circle?
Ghosts of DC website, 2013

{{Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. Squares, plazas, and circles in Washington, D.C. Neighborhoods in Northwest (Washington, D.C.)