Columbus Circle (Washington, D.C.)

Last updated
Columbus Circle
Monumento a Cristobal Colon - Washington DC.jpg
In the center of Columbus Circle is the Columbus Fountain, a monument to Christopher Columbus.
Columbus Circle (Washington, D.C.)
Location
Washington, D.C.
Coordinates 38°53′47.04″N77°0′23.76″W / 38.8964000°N 77.0066000°W / 38.8964000; -77.0066000
Roads at
junction
Massachusetts Avenue NE
Louisiana Avenue NE
Delaware Avenue NE
1st Street NE
E Street NE
Construction
Type Traffic circle
Maintained by DDOT
Columbus Circle
Built1912
NRHP reference No. 80004523 [1]
Added to NRHPApril 9, 1980

Columbus Circle, also known as Union Station Plaza or Columbus Plaza, is a traffic circle at the intersection of Delaware, Louisiana and Massachusetts Avenues and E and First Streets, Northeast in Washington, D.C. It is located in front of Union Station right next to the grounds of the United States Capitol. Union Station and its access roads interrupt this circle on one side, forming an arc.

Contents

The Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building is located on the eastern side and the National Postal Museum is on the western side of the plaza next to Union Station. Both buildings are on the northern side of Massachusetts Avenue NE.

History

In 1907, Union Station opened on the site of what was once a poor Irish neighborhood called Swampoodle. Most of the land around it had been leveled and all the houses razed. The area in front of the Station originally was called Union Station Plaza or the Plaza of Union Station. [2]

The plaza was put through a massive renovation between 2011 and 2013. [3]

Structures

The centerpiece of the circle is the Columbus Fountain, flanked by three 110 ft (34 m) flagpoles, designed by Daniel Burnham and sculpted by Lorado Taft. It was unveiled on June 8, 1912 in a three-day celebration involving tens of thousands of people (including the US Army, Navy and Marines) and several dignitaries including President William H. Taft and the Italian Ambassador to the United States. Parades, concerts and fireworks drow citizens of the city and many Knights of Columbus from around the country. It was not part of the original design of the Circle or of Union Station. This is when the plaza started to be called Columbus Circle due to the monument present in its center.

Two small fountains on each side of the Columbus Fountain frame the circle along with several stone balustrades. These fountains are accessible by the two staircases located on both sides of the central fountain.

The circle is ringed by flags of each of the 50 U.S. states in order of admission to the Union plus the flags of the U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. The flag poles are located on the southern side of the road. [4]

Access

Columbus Circle being located in front of Union Station is very accessible with various means of transportation.

Two streetcars lines used to circle on Columbus sharing tracks: the Capitol Traction Company and the Washington Railway & Electric Company. The Capitol Traction Company went down New Jersey Avenue NW, turning on Massachusetts Avenue NW and exiting on the opposite side of the Circle to F Street NE. [2] Today the streetcar stops on the opposite side of the station.

Cars were always present but the traffic patterns changed over the years. In the early days, cars could park around the plaza. As cars started taking over, other alternatives had to be found and parking on or near the plaza was no longer possible. Union Station struggled with parking until the 1980s when a parking lot was built on the back of station. Today, cars can drive around the circle to continue on Massachusetts Avenue but parking or stopping is forbidden. Cars can drive between the station and the Columbus Fountain on two access roads but they can only drop off or pickup passengers from the station.

Today, Columbus Plaza is mainly pedestrian with large walkways and several crosswalks providing access. On the station side, the crosswalk do not have lights due to the low speed of vehicles but on Southside, traffic lights offer a safer access for pedestrians.

A Capital Bikeshare station is located on the side of Union Station off of F Street NE. Bike racks are available in front of Union Station and in 2009, DDOT announced the construction of the Bikestation on the west side of Union Station right off the plaza where the bike lane ends. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania Avenue</span> Street in Maryland and Washington, D.C., US

Pennsylvania Avenue is a primarily diagonal street in Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland, that connects the United States Capitol with the White House and then crosses northwest Washington, D.C. to Georgetown. Traveling through southeast Washington from the Capitol, it enters Maryland, and becomes MD Route 4 and then MD Route 717 in Upper Marlboro, and finally Stephanie Roper Highway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dupont Circle</span> Place in the United States

Dupont Circle is a historic roundabout park and neighborhood of Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th Street NW to the east, 22nd Street NW to the west, M Street NW to the south, and Florida Avenue NW to the north. Much of the neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. However, the local government Advisory Neighborhood Commission and the Dupont Circle Historic District have slightly different boundaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Union Station</span> Major transit hub and passenger rail stop in the District of Columbia

Washington Union Station, known locally as Union Station, is a major train station, transportation hub, and leisure destination in Washington, D.C. Designed by Daniel Burnham and opened in 1907, it is Amtrak's headquarters, the railroad's second-busiest station, and North America's 10th-busiest railroad station. The station is the southern terminus of the Northeast Corridor, an electrified rail line extending north through major cities including Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston, and the busiest passenger rail line in the nation. In 2015, it served just under five million passengers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K Street (Washington, D.C.)</span> Major thoroughfare in Washington, D.C.; a metonym for the U.S. lobbying industry

K Street is a major thoroughfare in the United States capital of Washington, D.C., known as a center for lobbying and the location of numerous advocacy groups, law firms, trade associations, and some think tanks. In political discourse, "K Street" has become a metonym for Washington's lobbying industry or lobbying in the United States in general, the same way Wall Street in New York City became a metonym for the financial markets of the United States, since many lobbying firms are or at least traditionally were located on the section in Northwest Washington which passes from Georgetown through a portion of Downtown Washington, D.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eckington (Washington, D.C.)</span> Place in the United States

Eckington is a neighborhood in Northeast Washington, D.C., located south of the Prospect Hill and Glenwood Cemeteries. Eckington is less than one mile (1.6 km) southeast of Howard University and exactly one mile north of the United States Capitol. Eckington is also the home of the District of Columbia office of Sirius XM Radio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">14th Street (Washington, D.C.)</span> Street in northwest and southwest quadrants of Washington, D.C., US

14th Street NW/SW is a street in Northwest and Southwest quadrants of Washington, D.C., located 1.25 miles (2.01 km) west of the U.S. Capitol. It runs from the 14th Street Bridge north to Eastern Avenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitution Avenue</span> Street in the city of Washington, D.C.

Constitution Avenue is a major east–west street in the northwest and northeast quadrants of the city of Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was originally known as B Street, and its western section was greatly lengthened and widened between 1925 and 1933. It received its current name on February 26, 1931, though it was almost named Jefferson Avenue in honor of Thomas Jefferson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outdoor sculpture in Washington, D.C.</span>

There are many outdoor sculptures in Washington, D.C. In addition to the capital's most famous monuments and memorials, many figures recognized as national heroes have been posthumously awarded with his or her own statue in a park or public square. Some figures appear on several statues: Abraham Lincoln, for example, has at least three likenesses, including those at the Lincoln Memorial, in Lincoln Park, and the old Superior Court of the District of Columbia. A number of international figures, such as Mohandas Gandhi, have also been immortalized with statues. The Statue of Freedom is a 19½-foot tall allegorical statue that rests atop the United States Capitol dome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massachusetts Avenue (Washington, D.C.)</span> Major road in Washington, D.C., U.S.

Massachusetts Avenue is a major diagonal transverse road in Washington, D.C., and the Massachusetts Avenue Historic District is a historic district that includes part of it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Streetcars in Washington, D.C.</span> Streetcars that existed in Washington until 1962

Streetcars in Washington, D.C. transported people across the city and region from 1862 until 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Circle</span> Traffic circle

Thomas Circle is a traffic circle in Northwest Washington, D.C., in the United States. It is located at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue NW, Vermont Avenue NW, 14th Street NW, and M Street NW. It is named for George Henry Thomas, a Union Army general in the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barney Circle</span> Neighborhood in the United States

Barney Circle is a small residential neighborhood located between the west bank of the Anacostia River and the eastern edge of Capitol Hill in southeast Washington, D.C., in the United States. The neighborhood is characterized by its sense of community, activism, walkability, and historic feel. The neighborhood's name derives from the eponymous former traffic circle Pennsylvania Avenue SE just before it crosses the John Philip Sousa Bridge over the Anacostia. The traffic circle is named for Commodore Joshua Barney, Commander of the Chesapeake Bay Flotilla in the War of 1812.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transportation in Washington, D.C.</span> Overview of the transportation in Washington, DC

Washington, D.C. has a number of different modes of transportation available for use. Commuters have a major influence on travel patterns, with only 28% of people employed in Washington, D.C. commuting from within the city, whereas 33.5% commute from the nearby Maryland suburbs, 22.7% from Northern Virginia, and the rest from Washington, D.C.'s outlying suburbs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington and Georgetown Railroad</span> American streetcar company

The Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company was the first streetcar company to operate in Washington, D.C., United States. It was incorporated and started operations in 1862, using horse-drawn cars on tracks between Georgetown and the Navy Yard. Two additional lines ran on 7th Street NW/SW and 14th Street NW. In 1890, it switched to cable cars. On September 21, 1895, the company was purchased by the Rock Creek Railway and the two formed the Capital Traction Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Pleasant Line</span>

The Mount Pleasant Line, designated Routes 42 and 43, is a daily bus route in Washington, D.C., It was a streetcar line until the 1960s.

<i>Columbus Fountain</i> Public artwork in Washington, DC

Columbus Fountain also known as the Columbus Memorial is a public artwork by American sculptor Lorado Taft, located at Union Station in Washington, D.C., United States. A centerpiece of Columbus Circle, Columbus Fountain serves as a tribute to the explorer Christopher Columbus. The unveiling in 1912 was celebrated all over Washington, DC over the course of three days with parades, concerts and fireworks gathering tens of thousands of people from all over the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equestrian statue of Philip Sheridan (Washington, D.C.)</span> Bronze sculpture by Gutzon Borglum

General Philip Sheridan is a bronze sculpture that honors Civil War general Philip Sheridan. The monument was sculpted by Gutzon Borglum, best known for his design of Mount Rushmore. Dedicated in 1908, dignitaries in attendance at the unveiling ceremony included President Theodore Roosevelt, members of the President's cabinet, high-ranking military officers and veterans from the Civil War and Spanish–American War. The equestrian statue is located in the center of Sheridan Circle in the Sheridan-Kalorama neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The bronze statue, surrounded by a plaza and park, is one of eighteen Civil War monuments in Washington, D.C., which were collectively listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The sculpture and surrounding park are owned and maintained by the National Park Service, a federal agency of the Interior Department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephenson Grand Army of the Republic Memorial</span> Public artwork by J. Massey Rhind

The Stephenson Grand Army of the Republic Memorial, also known as Dr. Benjamin F. Stephenson, is a public artwork in Washington, D.C. honoring Dr. Benjamin F. Stephenson, founder of the Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization for Union veterans. The memorial is sited at Indiana Plaza, located at the intersection of 7th Street, Indiana Avenue, and Pennsylvania Avenue NW in the Penn Quarter neighborhood. The bronze figures were sculpted by J. Massey Rhind, a prominent 20th-century artist. Attendees at the 1909 dedication ceremony included President William Howard Taft, Senator William Warner, and hundreds of Union veterans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Capitol Street–Cardozo Line</span>

The East Capitol Street-Cardozo Line, designated Route 96, is a daily bus route operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority between Tenleytown-AU station of the Red Line of the Washington Metro and Capitol Heights station of the Blue and Silver Lines of the Washington Metro. The line operates every 20-30 minutes at all times. Route 96 trips are roughly 80 minutes long.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. 1 2 Street Railway Connections to Plaza of Union Station - The Washington Herald, Real Estate and Building Section - January 31, 1909 - Third Part, page 1
  3. D.C. to rebuild Union Station plaza - Dr. Gridlock - The Washington Post
  4. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/80004523_text
  5. "Union Station Bike Station Good for Existing Riders, Symbolism |". 7 August 2009.