Going in Circles in Washington DC


Going in Circles in Washington DC

If you live in DC or are just driving around DC you are probably going to run into one of those crazy circles sooner or later.  So the question is how many circles are there exactly in Washington DC?  Our count is 34. Most are named and marked with landmarks and statues.  However, there are a couple that to this day still remain unnamed.  Some also are actually partially in DC and partially in Maryland.  So are they DC circles or Maryland circles? 

Here is a list of the many circles of DC and where they are located.  Maybe one day we will do a virtual tour of the 34 circles of Washington DC.

Northwest

Anna J. Cooper Circle – Intersection of 3rd and T Streets.
Blair Circle – Intersection of 16th Street, Eastern Avenue, Colesville Road, and North Portal Drive. This circle is only half within the District; the other half is in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Chevy Chase Circle – Intersection of Western and Connecticut Avenues, Chevy Chase and Magnolia Parkways, and Grafton Street. This circle is only half within the District; the other half is in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Dupont Circle – Intersection of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire Avenues and 19th and P Streets, with an underpass for Connecticut Avenue and an express lane for Massachusetts Avenue.
Grant Circle – Intersection of New Hampshire and Illinois Avenues and Varnum and 5th Streets.
Juárez Circle – Intersection of New Hampshire and Virginia Avenues, 25th St, and Interstate 66, with an underpass for Interstate 66. Virginia Avenue cuts through the center of the circle.
Kalorama Circle – Intersection of 24th Street and Kalorama Road.
Logan Circle – Intersection of Rhode Island and Vermont Avenues and 13th and P Streets.
Observatory Circle – Intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and 34th Street. The roadway does not form a complete circle. (See United States Naval Observatory and Number One Observatory Circle.)
Peace Circle – Intersection of First Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.
Pinehurst Circle – Intersection of Western and Utah Avenues and 33rd and Worthington Streets. This forms a semicircle along the border with Maryland.
Plymouth Circle – Intersection of Plymouth Street and Parkside Lane.
Scott Circle – Intersection of Rhode Island and Massachusetts Avenues and 16th Street, with an underpass for 16th Street.
Sheridan Circle – Intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and R and 23rd Streets.
Sherman Circle – Intersection of Kansas and Illinois avenues and Crittenden and 7th Streets.
Tenley Circle – Intersection of Wisconsin and Nebraska Avenues, Fort Drive, and Yuma Street.
Columbus CircleThomas Circle – Intersection of Massachusetts and Vermont Avenues and 14th and M Streets, with an underpass for Massachusetts Avenue.
Thompson Circle – Near the intersection of 31st Street and Woodland Drive.
Ward Circle – Intersection of Massachusetts and Nebraska Avenues.
Washington Circle – Intersection of New Hampshire and Pennsylvania Avenues and K and 23rd Streets, with a K Street underpass.
Wesley Circle – Intersection of Massachusetts and University Avenues and 46th and Tilden Streets.
Westmoreland Circle – Intersection of Western and Massachusetts Avenues, Butterworth Place, and Wetherill Road. This circle is only half within the District; the other half is in Maryland.

Northeast

 Columbus Circle – Intersection of Delaware, Louisiana, and Massachusetts Avenues and E and First Streets. Union Station and its access roads interrupt this circle on one side.
Truxton Circle – Now defunct, existing only as the name of a neighborhood; formerly the intersection of Florida Avenue, North Capitol Street, Q Street NW, and Q Street NE. This circle lies on the border of Northwest and Northeast Washington. There are possible plans to rebuild the circle.
Unnamed circle at the intersection of New York Avenue, West Virginia Avenue, and Montana Avenue.

Southeast

Barney Circle – Intersection of Pennsylvania and Kentucky Avenues and 17th Street, with an underpass for the Southeast Freeway.
Bass Circle – Near the intersection of Bass Place and Bass Court.
Ellicott Circle – Cloverleaf at the interchange of Pennsylvania Avenue and the Anacostia Freeway.
Randle Circle – Intersection of Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Branch Avenues; K and 32nd Streets; and Fort DuPont Drive.

Southwest

Peace Circle

Benjamin Banneker Circle – Off L’Enfant Promenade, south of Interstate 395.
Garfield Circle – Intersection of First Street and Maryland Avenue.
Lincoln Memorial Circle – Intersection of 23rd Street, Henry Bacon and Daniel French Drives, and the Arlington Memorial Bridge. Surrounds the Lincoln Memorial and is divided between the Southwest and Northwest quadrants of the city.
Unnamed circle at the western end of Arlington Memorial Bridge connecting the bridge to the George Washington Memorial Parkway, Memorial Drive (which leads to Arlington National Cemetery), and Washington Boulevard (Virginia State Route 27). This circle is located on Columbia Island in the Potomac River, and thus falls within the District of Columbia.
Unnamed circle at the intersection of Third and G Streets.

See we are really going in cicles in Washington DC.

Related Articles

The L’Enfant Plan a Lasting Legacy in Washington DC

Random Articles

  • Washington DC Ranks 42nd in Americas Manliest Cities
  • The Washington, DC Flag
  • Raise the Debt Ceiling: Remy
DCDave

About DCDave

DCDave has been a resident of DC area for 47 years. He grew up in Montgomery County, attended Springbrook High School and the Unversity of Maryland. He is gainfully employed as a web developer and author and is your host of DCrevealed.
This entry was posted in DC Living, Transportation, Washington DC History and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.