Search Wikipedia

Pennsylvania Avenue

This article is about a street in Washington, D.C. For other uses, see Pennsylvania Avenue (disambiguation).

Pennsylvania Avenue is a diagonal street in Washington, D.C. and Prince George's County,
Maryland that connects the White House and the United States Capitol and then crosses
the city to Maryland. In Maryland it is also Maryland Route 4 to MD-717 where it becomes
Stephanie Roper Highway. The section between the White House and Congress is called
"America's Main Street",[1] it is the location of official parades and processions, as well as
protest marches. Moreover, Pennsylvania Avenue is an important commuter road and is
part of the National Highway System.[2][3]

Contents Pennsylvania Avenue

Route

The avenue runs for a total of 5.8 miles

(9.3 km) inside Washington, but the 1.2
miles (1.9 km) of Pennsylvania Avenue
Looking southeast down Pennsylvania
from the White House to the United
Avenue, NW towards the United States
States Capitol building is considered the
Capitol seen here from the Old Post Office
most important. It continues within the
Pavilion.
city for 3.5 miles (5.6 km), from the
southeast corner of the Capitol grounds Length 35.1 mi (56.5 km)

through the Capitol Hill neighborhood, Location Washington, D.C.

and over the Anacostia River on the John Prince George's
Philip Sousa Bridge. Crossing most of County, Maryland
Prince George's County, Maryland, it ends
Coordinates 38.893738°N
9.5 miles (15.3 km) from the DC line at
77.023901°W
the junction with MD 717 in WUpper

Marlboro where the

name changes to the
Stephanie Roper
Highway, for a total
length of 15.3 miles
(24.6 km). Stephanie Pennsylvania Avenue NW street sign
Roper Highway used to near The White House

be Pennsylvania
Avenue, but was renamed in 2012. In addition to its street
A 1942 photo of a DC 4 shield. names, in Maryland it is designated as Maryland Route 4.
At one point in the mid-20th century, Pennsylvania
Avenue was designated DC 4, an extension of Maryland Route 4 that reached at least the
east side of the White House.[citation needed]

Northwest of the White House, Pennsylvania Avenue runs for 1.4 miles (2.3 km) to its end
at M Street NW in Georgetown, just beyond the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge over Rock
Creek. From 1862 to 1962, streetcars ran the length of the avenue from Georgetown to the
Anacostia River.

History

Further information: Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site

Drawing of Pennsylvania Avenue and
the Capitol before it was burned
down in 1814
"most magnificent & most convenient"[citation needed].
Although Pennsylvania
Avenue extends six
miles (10 km) within
Washington, D.C., the
expanse between the
White House and the
Capitol constitutes the
ceremonial heart of the
nation. Washington
called this stretch
Intersection of 11th Street and
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW in 1921

Laid out by Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant, Pennsylvania

Avenue was one of the earliest streets constructed in the Federal City.[4] The first reference
to the street as Pennsylvania Avenue comes in a 1791 letter from Thomas Jefferson. One
theory is that the street was named for Pennsylvania as consolation for moving the capital
from Philadelphia.[5] Both Jefferson and George Washington considered the avenue an
important feature of the new capital. After inspecting L'Enfant's plan, President Washington
referred to the thoroughfare as a "Grand Avenue".[citation needed] Jefferson concurred, and
while the "grand avenue" was little more than a wide dirt road ridiculed as "The Great
Serbonian Bog", he planted it with rows of fast-growing Lombardy poplars.[citation needed]

At one time Pennsylvania Avenue provided an unobstructed view between the White House
and the Capitol. The construction of an expansion to the Treasury Building blocked this
view, and supposedly President Andrew Jackson did this on purpose. Relations between
the president and Congress were strained, and Jackson did not want to see the Capitol out
his window,[6] though in reality the Treasury Building was simply built on what was cheap
government land.

In an effort to tame dust and dirt, Pennsylvania Avenue was first paved using the macadam
method in 1832, but over the years other pavement methods were trialed on the avenue:
cobblestones in 1849 followed by Belgian blocks and then, in 1871, wooden blocks. In 1876,
as part of an initiative begun by President Ulysses S. Grant to see Washington City's
streets improved, Pennsylvania Avenue was paved with asphalt by Civil War veteran William
Averell[7] using Trinidad lake asphalt.[8]

In 1959, Pennsylvania Avenue was extended from the DC line to Dower House Road.[9]

On September 30, 1965, portions of the avenue and surrounding area were designated the
Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site. The National Park Service administers this area
which includes the United States Navy Memorial, Old Post Office Tower, and Pershing
Park.[5] Congress created the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation (PADC) on
October 27, 1972 to rehabilitate the street between the Capitol and the White House, an
area seen as blighted. The new organization was given the mandate of developing
Pennsylvania Avenue "in a manner suitable to its ceremonial, physical, and historic
relationship to the legislative and executive branches of the Federal Government".[5]

In 2010, the District of Columbia designated Pennsylvania Avenue from the southwestern
terminus of John Philip Sousa Bridge to the Maryland state line to be a "D.C. Great Street".
The city spent $430 million to beautify the street and improve the roadway.[10]

Parades and protests

Ever since an impromptu procession formed around Jefferson's second inauguration, every
United States president except Ronald Reagan has paraded down the Avenue after taking
the oath of office (Reagan paraded up the avenue for his first inauguration, in 1981, but not
for the second in 1985 because of freezing temperatures and high winds made it
dangerous). From William Henry Harrison to Gerald Ford, the funeral corteges of seven of
the eight presidents who died in office and two former presidents followed this route.
Franklin Roosevelt was the only president who died in office whose cortege did not follow
this route. Lyndon B. Johnson and Ford were the former presidents whose funeral cortege
followed this route. For LBJ, it was along the route from the Capitol to the National City
Christian Church, where he worshiped often, because the funeral was held there. Ford's
went up Pennsylvania Avenue because it paused at the White House en route to the
Washington National Cathedral, where the funeral was held. Abraham Lincoln's funeral
cortege solemnly proceeded along Pennsylvania Avenue in 1865; only weeks later the end
of the American Civil War was celebrated when the Army of the Potomac paraded more
joyously along the avenue.

As well as being the scene of official functions,

Pennsylvania Avenue is the traditional parade and protest
route of ordinary citizens. During the depression of the
1890s, for example, Jacob Coxey marched 500
supporters down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol to
demand federal aid for the unemployed. Similarly, on the
eve of Woodrow Wilson's 1913 inauguration, Alice Paul Looking southeast down
masterminded a parade, the Woman Suffrage Pennsylvania Avenue towards the
Old Post Office Pavilion and United
Procession, highlighting the women's suffrage States Capitol.
movement. In July 1932, a contingent of the Bonus
Expeditionary Force carried flags up Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House where they
planned to form picket lines. Pennsylvania Avenue also has served as a background for
more lighthearted celebrations, including a series of day- and nighttime Shriner's parades
in the 1920s and 1930s. Thomas and Concepcion Picciotto are the founders of the White
House Peace Vigil, the longest running anti-nuclear peace vigil in the US, at Lafayette
Square on the 1600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue.[11][12]

Enaction of security measures

After the Oklahoma

City bombing in 1995,
the Secret Service
closed the portion of
Crossroads of K Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in
Pennsylvania Avenue in the Foggy front of the White
Bottom neighborhood Protesters marching down
House to all vehicular
Pennsylvania Avenue during the
traffic. Pedestrian and bicycle traffic, however, was still September 15, 2007 anti-war
permitted on the sidewalk. After 9/11 this policy was protest.

made permanent. Near the White House traffic is

redirected to H Street or Constitution Avenue, both of which eventually link back with
Pennsylvania Avenue. Plans drafted by District officials after the September 11th attacks
call for Pennsylvania Avenue downtown to be used as a dividing line for any mass
evacuation of the city. People north of the avenue would be directed north while those
south of the avenue would be directed south. No vehicles would be allowed to cross the
avenue.[citation needed]

In 2002, the National Capital Planning Commission invited several prominent landscape
architects to submit proposals for the redesign of Pennsylvania Avenue at the White House,
with the intention that the security measures would be woven into an overall plan for the
precinct and a more welcoming public space might be created. The winning entry by
Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc., Landscape Architects proposed a very simple
approach to planting, paving and the integration of security measures. Construction was
completed in 2004.[13]

Sites of interest

From east to west:

John Philip Sousa Bridge John A. Wilson

Building
Barney Circle
Freedom Plaza
United States Capitol
Pershing Park
Peace Monument
Treasury Building
National Gallery of Art, East
Building White House The White House is at 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue.
John Marshall Park Lafayette Park

Embassy of Canada Blair House

Newseum Renwick Gallery

Federal Trade Commission World Bank

National Archives Building Mexican Embassy

United States Navy Memorial The George Washington University

J. Edgar Hoover Building (FBI International Finance Corporation

headquarters)
Washington Circle
Robert F. Kennedy Department of
Spanish Embassy
Justice Building (Department of
Justice headquarters) Rock Creek Park

Old Post Office Pavilion Georgetown

Ronald Reagan Building

The National Theatre and Warner Theatre use Pennsylvania Avenue mailing addresses,
although the theaters are nearby on E Street and 13th Street respectively.

Transit service

Pennsylvania Avenue is served by multiple buses, and several rail lines intersect it.

Metrobus

The following Metrobus routes travel along the street

(listed from west to east):

30N (Branch Ave. SE to Independence Ave. SE, then

7th St. NW to 15th St. NW, then H St. NW to M St. NW)

30S (Minnesota Ave. SE to Independence Ave. SE, then Storefronts along Pennsylvania
Avenue in the Capitol Hill
7th St. NW to 15th St. NW, then H St. NW to M St. NW) neighborhood

38B (Eye St. NW to M St. NW)

33 (9th St. NW to 15th St. NW, then H St. NW to M St. NW)

31, D5 (Washington Circle to M St. NW)

36 (Branch Ave. SE to Independence Ave. SE, then 7th St. NW to 15th St. NW, then H St.
NW to Washington Circle)

32 (Minnesota Ave. SE to Independence Ave. SE, then 7th St. NW to 15th St. NW, then H
St. NW to Washington Circle)

39 (Limited stop service from Southern Ave. to Independence Ave., then 7th St. NW to
15th St. NW, then Eye St. NW to Washington Circle)

37 (Limited stop service from 7th St. NW to 15th St. NW)

16C (6th St. NW to 12th St. NW)

P6 (4th St. NW to 11th St. NW)

34 (Minnesota Ave. SE to Independence Ave. SE)

M6 (Alabama Ave. SE to Potomac Ave. SE)

B2 (Minnesota Ave. SE to Potomac Ave. SE)

V12 (Brooks Dr. to Shadyside Ave.)

K12 (Forestville Rd. to Parkland Dr., then Walters La. to Donnell Dr.)

J12 (Eastbound only from Forestville Rd. to Old Marlboro Pike)

DC Circulator

The DC Circulator travels along the street:

Georgetown-Union Station (20th St. NW to M St. NW)

MTA Commuter Bus

The following MTA Maryland Commuter Bus routes travel along the street:

904 (Anacostia Freeway to Independence Ave., then 7th St. NW to 11th St. NW)

905 (7th St. NW to 11th St. NW)

TheBus

The following routes of TheBus serve Pennsylvania Ave. in Prince George's County:

24 (Old Silver Hill Rd. to Brooks Dr.)

20 (Marlboro Pike to Donnell Dr.)

Washington Metro

The following Washington Metro stations have entrances located near Pennsylvania
Avenue:

Potomac Avenue, Eastern Market, Federal Triangle, Foggy Bottom–GWU

Blue Line
Orange Line
Silver Line

Archives
Green Line
Yellow Line

References

m. ^ Pennsylvania Avenue, National Historic Site . National Park Service.

n. ^ United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on

Transportation and Related Agencies (1995). Department of Transportation and
Related Agencies Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1995 . U.S. Government Printing
Office. p. 142. ISBN 978-0-16-046724-0.

o. ^ Scot Schraufnagel (11 August 2011). Historical Dictionary of the U.S. Congress .
Scarecrow Press. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-8108-7455-8.

p. ^ L'Enfant identified himself as "Peter Charles L'Enfant" during most of his life, while
residing in the United States. He wrote this name on his "Plan of the city intended for
the permanent seat of the government of t(he) United States ...." (Washington, D.C.)
and on other legal documents. However, during the early 1900s, a French ambassador
to the U.S., Jean Jules Jusserand, popularized the use of L'Enfant's birth name,
"Pierre Charles L'Enfant". (Reference: Bowling, Kenneth R (2002). Peter Charles
L'Enfant: vision, honor, and male friendship in the early American Republic. George
Washington University, Washington, D.C. ISBN 978-0-9727611-0-9). The United
States Code states in 40 U.S.C. § 3309 : "(a) In General.—The purposes of this
chapter shall be carried out in the District of Columbia as nearly as may be practicable
in harmony with the plan of Peter Charles L'Enfant." The National Park Service
identifies L'Enfant as "Major Peter Charles L'Enfant " and as "Major Pierre (Peter)
Charles L'Enfant " on its website.

s. ^ a b c "Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site and Old Post Office Building" .
Washington, DC: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary. National Park
Service. Retrieved 2009-01-21.

u. ^ "FAQs: Main Treasury Building" . United States Department of the Treasury.

w. ^ Lively, Mathew W. (2013-04-08). "William Averell Paves the Way to the White House,
Literally" . Civil War Profiles. Retrieved 2013-12-19.

x. ^ McNichol, Dan (2005). "Chapter 4: Asphalting the Avenues". Paving the Way:
Asphalt in America. Lanham, Maryland: National Asphalt Pavement Association.
pp. 38–55. ISBN 0-914313-04-5.

y. ^ Rowland, James B. (1 December 1959). "6 Miles of New Road to Beaches Opened".
The Evening Star.

mz. ^ Thomson, Robert (May 30, 2010). "Patience Required for Travelers on Pennsylvania
Avenue". The Washington Post.

mm. ^ The Oracles of Pennsylvania Avenue Archived 2012-07-10 at Archive.today

mn. ^ Colman McCarthy (February 8, 2009). "From Lafayette Square Lookout, He Made
His War Protest Permanent" . The Washington Post.

mo. ^ Fernandez, Manny (November 10, 2004). "America's Main Street Revisited;
Pennsylvania Ave. Reopened to Pedestrians" . Washington Post. p. A01.

External links

KML file (edit • help)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pennsylvania Avenue.

Pennsylvania Avenue restoration project

National Park Service

Allen, Henry, and Andrew Cutraro. The Two Sides of America's Boulevard . The
Washington Post Magazine. 2007-12-23. Retrieved 2007-12-23.

The Library of Congress American Memory project

Last edited 7 days ago by an anonymous user

Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless otherwise noted.

Terms of Use • Privacy • Desktop