Thomas Circle is a
traffic circleA traffic circle is one of several types of circular intersections. Traffic is normally allowed to go in one direction only around a central island. In the absence of signs or signal control, traffic entering a circle has the right-of-way, although many circles give right-of-way to the primary...
in Northwest
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...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at the junction of
Massachusetts AvenueMassachusetts Avenue, abbreviated Mass Ave, is a major diagonal transverse road in Washington, D.C. Appearing in Pierre L'Enfant's original plan, it is the longest thoroughfare in the capital, crossing three of its four quadrants. It intersects every major north-south street and passes numerous...
, Vermont Avenue,
14th StreetFourteenth Street is a street in Northwest and Southwest Washington, D.C., located 1¼ mi. west of the U.S. Capitol. It runs from the 14th Street Bridge north to Eastern Avenue....
, and
M StreetThe name "M Street" refers to two major roads in the United States capital of Washington, D.C. Because of the Cartesian-coordinate-based street-naming system 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...
, N.W.
The through lanes of Massachusetts Avenue pass under Thomas Circle. The
service lanesA frontage road is a non-limited access road running parallel to a higher-speed road, usually a freeway, and feeding it at appropriate points of access...
of Massachusetts Avenue intersected the circle until it was reconstructed in 2005–2006.
A
statueThere 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...
of General
George Henry ThomasGeorge Henry Thomas was a career United States Army officer and a Union General during the American Civil War, one of the principal commanders in the Western Theater....
by
John Quincy Adams WardJohn Quincy Adams Ward was an American sculptor, who is most familiar for his over-lifesize standing statue of George Washington on the steps of Federal Hall on Wall Street.-Early years:...
was erected in Thomas Circle in 1879. The circle is considered to mark the boundary between the downtown section of 14th Street and the emerging uptown 14th Street neighborhood.
Thomas Circle was originally implemented as a true traffic circle.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Thomas Circle' Start a new discussion about 'Thomas Circle' Answer questions from other users |
Thomas Circle is a
traffic circleA traffic circle is one of several types of circular intersections. Traffic is normally allowed to go in one direction only around a central island. In the absence of signs or signal control, traffic entering a circle has the right-of-way, although many circles give right-of-way to the primary...
in Northwest
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...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at the junction of
Massachusetts AvenueMassachusetts Avenue, abbreviated Mass Ave, is a major diagonal transverse road in Washington, D.C. Appearing in Pierre L'Enfant's original plan, it is the longest thoroughfare in the capital, crossing three of its four quadrants. It intersects every major north-south street and passes numerous...
, Vermont Avenue,
14th StreetFourteenth Street is a street in Northwest and Southwest Washington, D.C., located 1¼ mi. west of the U.S. Capitol. It runs from the 14th Street Bridge north to Eastern Avenue....
, and
M StreetThe name "M Street" refers to two major roads in the United States capital of Washington, D.C. Because of the Cartesian-coordinate-based street-naming system 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...
, N.W.
The through lanes of Massachusetts Avenue pass under Thomas Circle. The
service lanesA frontage road is a non-limited access road running parallel to a higher-speed road, usually a freeway, and feeding it at appropriate points of access...
of Massachusetts Avenue intersected the circle until it was reconstructed in 2005–2006.
A
statueThere 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...
of General
George Henry ThomasGeorge Henry Thomas was a career United States Army officer and a Union General during the American Civil War, one of the principal commanders in the Western Theater....
by
John Quincy Adams WardJohn Quincy Adams Ward was an American sculptor, who is most familiar for his over-lifesize standing statue of George Washington on the steps of Federal Hall on Wall Street.-Early years:...
was erected in Thomas Circle in 1879. The circle is considered to mark the boundary between the downtown section of 14th Street and the emerging uptown 14th Street neighborhood.
History
Thomas Circle was originally implemented as a true traffic circle. Later, 14th Street was extended through the circle to increase traffic flow. In December 1938, construction began on the Massachusetts Avenue underpass; it opened for traffic on March 14, 1940.
In 2006, the D.C. Department of Transportation completed a $6 million reconstruction of the circle. The project included the addition of bike lanes, pedestrian crosswalks mid-circle (which hadn't previously existed), new in-circle traffic lights, better street lighting, and new sidewalks and landscaping.
External links