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Washington, D.C., is administratively divided into four geographical quadrants of unequal size, each delineated by their ordinal directions from the medallion located in the Crypt under the Rotunda of the Capitol. Street and number addressing, centered on the Capitol, radiates out into each of the quadrants, producing a number of intersections of identically named cross-streets in each quadrant.[ clarification needed ] Originally, the District of Columbia was a near-perfect square but contained more than one settlement; the Capitol was to be the center of the City of Washington. Thus, the Capitol was never located at the geographic center of the whole territory, which was eventually north of the Potomac River, consolidated into one city. (The geographic center was located near the onetime marshy area of the present-day intersection of 17th Street, NW and Constitution Ave.) As a result, the quadrants are of greatly varying size. Northwest is quite large, encompassing over a third of the city's geographical area, while Southwest is little more than a few neighborhoods, large parks, and a military base.
The boundaries of the quadrants are not necessarily straight lines radiating from the medallion, but in three instances follow the paths of the boundary streets (which in some cases curve around topographical features): North Capitol Street, South Capitol Street, and East Capitol Street. The axis of the National Mall through the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial forms the boundary running west of the medallion.
"Northwest" (also written as NW or N.W.) is located north of the National Mall and west of North Capitol Street. It is the largest of the four quadrants of the city, containing more than 42% of the entire city's area [1] and over half of its population. [2] It includes the central business district, Federal Triangle, the Smithsonian National Zoo, and the museums along the northern side of the National Mall, as well as such prestigious neighborhoods as Foggy Bottom, West End, Columbia Heights, Petworth, Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, LeDroit Park, Georgetown, Adams Morgan, Embassy Row, Glover Park, Tenleytown, Piney Branch, Shepherd Park, Crestwood, Bloomingdale, and Friendship Heights. The large Rock Creek Park divides the northwest quadrant in two.
"Northeast" (NE or N.E.) is located north of East Capitol Street and east of North Capitol Street. Northeast neighborhoods include Brentwood, Brookland, Ivy City, Marshall Heights, NoMa, Pleasant Hill, Stanton Park, Trinidad, Michigan Park, Riggs Park, Fort Totten, Fort Lincoln, Edgewood, and Woodridge, as well as much of Capitol Hill. Notable landmarks include the Supreme Court, Union Station, the Catholic University of America, Trinity University, National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Franciscan Monastery, Providence Hospital, Gallaudet University, the National Arboretum, Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, and the Benning Road Power Plant.
"Southeast" (SE or S.E.) is located south of East Capitol Street and east of South Capitol Street. It has a rich cultural history, including the historic Capitol Hill and Anacostia neighborhoods, the Navy Yard, the Marine Barracks, the Anacostia River waterfront, historic Eastern Market, the remains of several Civil War-era forts, historic St. Elizabeths Hospital, RFK Stadium, Nationals Park, and the Congressional Cemetery. The quadrant is divided by the Anacostia River, with the portion that is west of the river sometimes referred to as "Near Southeast" and the portion east of the river is known as "River East." Many people mistakenly (or in some instances, pejoratively) call the entire eastern portion of the quadrant Anacostia, although the name refers only to a small area along Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.
"Southwest" (SW or S.W.) is located south of the National Mall and west of South Capitol Street and is the smallest quadrant of the city. Although roughly half of the quadrant is located south of the Anacostia River in Anacostia, references to "Southwest" generally allude to the area near downtown, within about a mile of the Capitol, much of which was demolished and redeveloped in the 1960s with modern federal office and apartment buildings. Fort McNair and the National War College are also there. The section south of the river, except for the Bellevue neighborhood, is almost entirely devoted to Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, and the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Southeast is the southeastern quadrant of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and is located south of East Capitol Street and east of South Capitol Street. It includes the Capitol Hill and Anacostia neighborhoods, the Navy Yard, the Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB), the U.S. Marine Barracks, the Anacostia River waterfront, Eastern Market, the remains of several Civil War-era forts, historic St. Elizabeths Hospital, RFK Stadium, Nationals Park, and the Congressional Cemetery. It also contains a landmark known as "The Big Chair," located on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. The quadrant is split by the Anacostia River, with the portion that is west of the river sometimes referred to as "Near Southeast". Geographically, it is the second-smallest quadrant of the city.
Southwest is the southwestern quadrant of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and is located south of the National Mall and west of South Capitol Street. It is the smallest quadrant of the city, and contains a small number of named neighborhoods and districts, including Bellevue, Southwest Federal Center, the Southwest Waterfront, Buzzard Point, and the military installation known as Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling.
Northwest is the northwestern quadrant of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and is located north of the National Mall and west of North Capitol Street. It is the largest of the four quadrants of the city, and it includes the central business district, the Federal Triangle, and the museums along the northern side of the National Mall, as well as many of the District's historic neighborhoods.
Northeast is the northeastern quadrant of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It encompasses the area located north of East Capitol Street and east of North Capitol Street.
Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., United States are distinguished by their history, culture, architecture, demographics, and geography. The names of 131 neighborhoods are unofficially defined by the D.C. Office of Planning. Neighborhoods can be defined by the boundaries of wards, historic districts, Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, civic associations, and business improvement districts (BIDs); these boundaries will overlap. The eight wards each elect a member to the Council of the District of Columbia and are redistricted every ten years.
Washington, D.C. is located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States at 38°53′42″N77°02′11″W, the coordinates of the Zero Milestone, on The Ellipse. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a geographical area of 68.3 square miles (176.9 km2), 61.4 square miles (159.0 km2) of which is land, and the remaining 6.9 square miles (17.9 km2) (10.16%) of which is water. The Anacostia River and the smaller Rock Creek flow into the Potomac River in Washington.
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.
South Capitol Street is a major street dividing the southeast and southwest quadrants of Washington, D.C., in the United States. It runs south from the United States Capitol to the D.C.–Maryland line, intersecting with Southern Avenue. After it enters Maryland, the street becomes Indian Head Highway at the Eastover Shopping Center, a terminal or transfer point of many bus routes.
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, Boundary Street was renamed Florida Avenue in 1890.
The name "M Street" refers to two major roads in the United States capital of Washington, D.C. Because of the Cartesian coordinate system used to name streets in Washington, the name "M Street" can be used to refer to any east-west street located twelve blocks north or south of the dome of the United States Capitol. Thus, in all four quadrants of the city there are streets called "M Street", which are disambiguated by quadrant designations, namely, M Street NW, NE, SW, and SE.
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.
The streets and highways of Washington, D.C., form the core of the surface transportation infrastructure in Washington, D.C., the federal capital of the United States. Given that it is a planned city, the city's streets follow a distinctive layout and addressing scheme. There are 1,500 miles (2,400 km) of public roads in the city, of which 1,392 miles (2,240 km) are owned and maintained by city government.
The McMillan Plan is a comprehensive planning document for the development of the monumental core and the park system of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It was written in 1902 by the Senate Park Commission. The commission is popularly known as the McMillan Commission after its chairman, Senator James McMillan of Michigan.
The Southwest Waterfront is a neighborhood in Southwest Washington, D.C. The Southwest quadrant is the smallest of Washington's four quadrants, and the Southwest Waterfront is one of only two residential neighborhoods in the quadrant; the other is Bellevue, which, being east of the Anacostia River, is frequently, if mistakenly, regarded as being in Southeast
Northeast Boundary is small neighborhood located in the northeast quadrant of Washington, D.C., in the United States. Along with the Capitol View neighborhood, it is the easternmost neighborhood of the District of Columbia.
Pleasant Hill is a neighborhood located in Ward 5 of Northeast Washington, D.C. Pleasant Hill is contained between Allison Street NE and Bates Road NE to the north, Taylor Street NE to the south, the Washington Metropolitan Area Red Line tracks to the east, and North Capitol Street NW to the west. Pleasant Hill borders the adjacent neighborhoods of Fort Totten (north), North Michigan Park (northeast), Michigan Park (east), University Heights (south), Petworth (west), Brightwood Park (northwest), and Park View (southwest). It is adjacent to the Catholic University of America and even houses its athletic facilities. Pleasant Hill houses the Catholic University of America's soccer and football fields as well as its Raymond A. DuFour Athletic Center.
Downtown is the central business district of Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. It is the third largest central business district in the United States. The "Traditional Downtown" has been defined as an area roughly between Union Station in the east and 16th Street NW in the west, and between the National Mall on the south and Massachusetts Avenue on the north, including Penn Quarter. However, nowadays, Downtown D.C. usually refers to a larger area, as the DC Office of Planning states:
…most residents, workers, and visitors think of Downtown in a broader sense — including areas as far north as Dupont Circle, as far west as Foggy Bottom, and as far east as Capitol Hill. Only about half of the central city workforce is located within the city’s traditional Downtown.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to District of Columbia:
P Street refers to four different streets within the city of Washington, D.C. The streets were named by President George Washington in 1791 as part of a general street naming program, in which east–west running streets were named alphabetically and north–south running streets numerically.
Western Avenue is one of three boundary streets between Washington, D.C., and the state of Maryland. It follows a southwest-to-northeast line, beginning at Westmoreland Circle in the south and ending at Oregon Avenue NW in the north. It is roughly 3.5 miles (5.6 km) in length. First proposed in 1893, it was constructed somewhat fitfully from about 1900 to 1931.