Maine Avenue (Washington, D.C.)

Last updated
Maine Avenue
Maine Avenue, Washington DC.jpg
Other name(s) Maine Avenue SW
Maintained by DDOT
Location Washington, D.C., U.S.
Coordinates 38°52′58.6″N77°1′51.3″W / 38.882944°N 77.030917°W / 38.882944; -77.030917 Coordinates: 38°52′58.6″N77°1′51.3″W / 38.882944°N 77.030917°W / 38.882944; -77.030917
West end Independence Avenue
Major
junctions
US 1.svg US 1 (14th Street) / Ohio Drive
I-395.svg I395 / 12th Street
7th Street
East end 6th / M Streets

Maine Avenue is a diagonal avenue in the Southwest quadrant of Washington, D.C.. Maine Avenue connects Independence Avenue with M Street SW, and has an interchange with Interstate 395.

Washington, D.C. Capital of the United States

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington or D.C., is the capital of the United States. Founded after the American Revolution as the seat of government of the newly independent country, Washington was named after George Washington, first President of the United States and Founding Father. As the seat of the United States federal government and several international organizations, Washington is an important world political capital. The city is also one of the most visited cities in the world, with more than 20 million tourists annually.

Contents

Route description

Maine Avenue begins at 17th Street SW and Independence Avenue SW and continues southeast, parallelling the Tidal Basin to 12th Street SW where it crosses under Interstate 395. Continuing southeast, it runs parallel to the Washington Channel and Water Street SW, where it crosses 7th Street. At 6th Street SW, Maine Avenue ends, becoming M Street SW.

Washington Channel river in the United States of America

The Washington Channel is a channel that parallels the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. It is located between the Southwest Waterfront on the east side and East Potomac Park on the west side. The channel is two miles long, receives outflow from the Tidal Basin at its north end, and empties into the Anacostia River at Hains Point at its south end. The channel's depth ranges from 8.8 feet (2.7 m) to 23 feet (7.0 m).

7th Street (Washington, D.C.) street in Washington, D.C.

There are two north-south arteries in Washington, D.C. named 7th Street that are differentiated by the quadrants of the city in which they are located. Historically, 7th Street has been a main north-south road in Washington, being the main route for travelers and farmers coming into the city from the north. This is evident in its intersection with Mount Vernon Square, a historically important public space, as well as the original Central Market, located at the intersection of Seventh, Pennsylvania, and Indiana Avenues. The space occupied by this Central Market has now become the location of the Navy Memorial. Seventh Street forms major intersections at Pennsylvania Ave, E Street NW, H Street NW, K Street NW, and Massachusetts Avenue.

Points of interest

Points of interest along Maine Avenue include Arena Stage and the Southwest Waterfront, home of the Maine Avenue Fish Market.

Maine Avenue Fish Market

The Maine Avenue Fish Market also known as the Fish Wharf, or simply, the Wharf is an open-air seafood market located in Southwest Washington, D.C. The Fish Market is one of the few surviving open air seafood markets on the east coast of the United States. A local landmark, the Maine Avenue Fish Market is the oldest continuously operating fish market in the United States, seventeen years older than New York City's Fulton Fish Market.

History

In 1861, Maine Avenue was a small street north and parallel to Maryland Avenue near Capitol Hill.

Capitol Hill neighborhood in Washington D.C.

Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the oldest residential neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., and with roughly 35,000 people in just under 2 square miles (5 km2), it is also one of the most densely populated.

Interstate 695 was planned to be extended west of Interstate 395 along Maine Avenue. That project, like many proposed interstate highways in the District of Columbia, was canceled. [1]

Interstate 695 (I-695) is a 2-mile-long (3.2 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway in Washington, D.C.. It is also known as the Southeast Freeway. It travels from an interchange with I-395 south of the United States Capitol building east then south across the 11th Street Bridges to an intersection with I-295 and District of Columbia Route 295 (DC 295) in Anacostia.

See also

<i>DC Waterfront, Maine Avenue</i> painting by Delilah Pierce

DC Waterfront, Maine Avenue is a painting by Delilah Pierce. It is in the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. in the United States.

Delilah Pierce American painter

Delilah Williams Pierce was an African American artist, curator and educator based in Washington, District of Columbia. Pierce was best known for upholding the African American art in her model figure and genre painting, abstraction.

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Independence Avenue (Washington, D.C.) major east-west street in the southwest and southeast quadrants of Washington, D.C., United States

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