Constitution Avenue

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Constitution Avenue

In Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the Capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790....
, Constitution Avenue is a major east-west street running just north of the United States Capitol

United States Capitol

The United States Capitol serves as the seat of government for the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States....
in the city's Northwest and Northeast quadrant

Address (geography)

An address is a code and abstract concept expressing the fixed location of a home, business or other building on the earth's surface....
s. The avenue carries heavy commuter traffic on weekdays and heavy tourist traffic on the weekends; it is also an important parade route.

segment of Constitution Avenue west of Pennsylvania Avenue was once the Washington Canal.

Construction on the canal, which was part of Pierre L'Enfant's original plan for the city, began in 1810.

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Ronald Reagan Casket On Caisson During Funeral Procession

In Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

United States Capitol

Address (geography)

Washington Canal

The segment of Constitution Avenue west of Pennsylvania Avenue was once the Washington Canal.

Construction on the canal, which was part of Pierre L'Enfant's original plan for the city, began in 1810. Tiber Creek

Tiber Creek

Tiber Creek or Tyber Creek was a tributary of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.Originally known as Goose Creek, it was renamed after Rome's Tiber as the lands southeast of then Georgetown, Washington, D.C., Maryland, were selected for the City of Washington, the new capital of the United States....
was transformed into the Washington Canal, which ran along what is today Constitution Avenue, eventually working its way towards the U.S. Capitol. It is believed that early city plans called for an extensive network of canals snaking through the Northeast corridor of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. In 1872, the canal was converted to an underground tunnel; it had become common for Washington residents to throw their garbage into it, and the unsanitary conditions became a health concern. Additionally, plans for an extensive canal system were abandoned around this time in favor of a railroad system that would connect Washington to the West. These canal plans were not successful; after completion of the B&O Railroad, city officials abandoned their plans for a rail system. The canal was converted to a tunnel and paved over.

Original street name

In Washington's Cartesian-coordinate-based

Cartesian coordinate system

In mathematics, the Cartesian coordinate system is used to determine each Point uniquely in a Plane through two numbers, usually called the x-coordinate or abscissa and the y-coordinate or ordinate of the point....
street system

Street name

A street name or odonym is an identifying name given to a street. The street name usually forms part of the address . Buildings are often given House numberings along the street to further help identify them....
, Constitution Avenue was originally known as North B Street. If it had stayed in the city's lettered street system, it would today be known as B Street NW and NE. The street on the other side of the Anacostia River

Anacostia River

The Anacostia River is a river that flows about 8.4 mi from Prince George's County, Maryland in Maryland, United States and through Washington, D.C....
corresponding to Constitution Avenue is called Blaine Street NE.

Route numbers

Sections of Constitution Avenue are designated U.S. Route 1

U.S. Route 1

U.S. Route 1 is a major north-south U.S. Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs over 2000 miles from Key West, Florida north to Fort Kent, Maine at the Canadian border ....
, U.S. Route 50

U.S. Route 50

U.S. Route 50 is a major east-west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching just over 3000 miles from Ocean City, Maryland on the Atlantic Ocean to West Sacramento, California....
, or both. Specifically, U.S. 50 runs along the road from its west end to Sixth Street NW (eastbound) and Ninth Street NW (westbound). U.S. 1 northbound uses the eastbound lanes of Constitution Avenue from 14th Street NW

14th Street Northwest and Southwest (Washington, D.C.)

Fourteenth Street is a street in Washington, D.C. and Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., located 1? mi. west of the U.S. Capitol. It runs from the 14th Street Bridge north to Eastern Avenue ....
to Sixth Street NW; southbound U.S. 1 used to run west from Ninth Street NW to 15th Street NW but now continues straight through the Ninth Street Tunnel to I-395

Interstate 395 (District of Columbia-Virginia)

Interstate 395 in Virginia is a 13 mile long spur route that begins at a junction with Interstate 95 in Virginia in Springfield, Virginia and ends in Washington, D.C....
.

Termini

The western terminus of Constitution Avenue is the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge

Theodore Roosevelt Bridge

.Theodore Roosevelt Bridge is located in Washington, D.C. It carries Interstate 66 and U.S. Highway 50 over the Potomac River, connecting Rosslyn, Virginia with Washington near the Kennedy Center....
; thus, Constitution Avenue connects the city's ceremonial core with Interstate 66

Interstate 66

Interstate 66 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. As indicated by its even route number, it runs in an east-west direction....
. The eastern terminus is at 21st Street NE, just short of Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium

Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium

Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, better known as RFK Stadium or RFK, is a professional sports stadium in Washington, D.C., United States, and the current home of Major League Soccer's D.C....
. Through traffic is diverted via North Carolina Avenue and C Street to the Whitney Young Memorial Bridge

Whitney Young Memorial Bridge

The Whitney Young Memorial Bridge, otherwise known as the East Capitol Street Bridge, is a bridge that carries East Capitol Street across the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C., U.S.A....
.

Locations of interest along avenue

In Northwest Washington, Constitution Avenue separates the National Mall

National Mall

The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the Capital of the United States. Officially termed by the National Park Service the National Mall & Memorial Parks, the term commonly includes the areas that are officially part of West Potomac Park and Constitution Gardens to the west, and often is taken to...
from the Federal Triangle

Federal Triangle

File:Ariel Rios Building.jpgThe Federal Triangle is the Triangle area in Washington, D.C. formed by 15th Street, Constitution Avenue, and Pennsylvania Avenue....
. The avenue is lined on its north side by the headquarters of several federal agencies, and on the south side by several Smithsonian

Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its Financial endowment, contributions, and profits from its shops and its magazine....
museums, the National Gallery of Art

National Gallery of Art

The National Gallery of Art is a national art museum, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The museum was established in 1938 by the United States Congress, with funds for construction and a substantial art collection donated by Andrew W....
, Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a national war memorial in Washington, D.C. It honors members of the Military of the United States who fought in the Vietnam War and who died in service or are still unaccounted for....
, Constitution Gardens, and the Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial is a Presidential memorials in the United States built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C....
. Other locations of interest include the Embassy of Canada

Canadian Embassy in Washington

File:Embassy of Canada - Washington, D.C..jpgThe Embassy of Canada in Washington, D.C. is Canada main diplomatic mission to the United States....
, Organization of American States

Organization of American States

The Organization of American States is an international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States. Its members are the thirty-five independent states of the Americas....
, National Academy of Sciences

United States National Academy of Sciences

The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine."...
, and National Science Foundation

National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering....
. In Northeast, the avenue passes through the Capitol Hill

Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.

File:Aerial view of the Capitol Hill.jpgCapitol Hill, aside from being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington D.C., stretching easterly in front of the U.S....
and Lincoln Park neighborhoods.

National Highway System

Between Louisiana Avenue and Interstate 66, Constitution Avenue is part of the National Highway System.