List of traffic circles in Washington, D.C.

The surface road layout in Washington, D.C., consists primarily of numbered streets along the north–south axis and lettered streets (followed by streets named in alphabetical order) along the east–west axis. Avenues named for 48 of the 50 U.S. states plus Puerto Rico crisscross this grid diagonally, and where the avenues intersect, traffic circles often occur. Many circles are named for American Civil War generals and admirals, while several neighborhoods take their names from nearby circles. There are approximately 36 roundabouts currently in the District.

Northwest

Anna J. Cooper Circle – intersection of 3rd and T Streets in LeDroit Park
Blair Circle – intersection of 16th Street, Eastern Avenue, Colesville Road, and North Portal Drive; circle is split between North Portal Estates and Silver Spring, Maryland
Chevy Chase Circle – intersection of Western and Connecticut Avenues, Chevy Chase and Magnolia Parkways, and Grafton Street; 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
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
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
Thomas Circle – intersection of Massachusetts and Vermont Avenues and 14th and M Streets, with an underpass for Massachusetts Avenue
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

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, making it more of a semicircle. It is also known as Columbus Plaza. Prior to the construction of the Columbus Memorial at its center in 1912, it was called Union Station Plaza.
Dave Thomas Circle - triangular area bounded by Florida Avenue, New York Avenue and First Street Northeast. Though not part of the original city design, traffic patterns mimic other circles.
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 lay on the border of Northwest and Northeast Washington.

Southeast

Barney Circle – intersection of Pennsylvania and Kentucky Avenues 17th Street, and Southeast Boulevard, with an underpass for RFK Stadium parking
Ellipse Park – intersection of 14th St SE and Pennsylvania and Potomac Avenues.^[1]

Southwest

Benjamin Banneker Circle – Off L'Enfant Promenade, south of Interstate 395
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

Photos

Panoramic view of a wintry Dupont Circle

Aerial photograph of Dupont Circle
Thomas Circle
Sheridan Circle
Washington Circle

References

^ Mark Eckenwiler (2019-03-26). "What we can learn from the history of DC's circles and squares".

[1] Mark Eckenwiler (2019-03-26). "What we can learn from the history of DC's circles and squares".

[1]

v t e Streets and highways of Washington, D.C.
Numbered streets	7th Street 14th Street 16th Street NW 18th Street NW
Lettered streets	F Street H Street K Street M Street P Street U Street
State-named roadways	Connecticut Florida Georgia Maine Massachusetts Missouri New Hampshire New York Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island Virginia West Virginia Wisconsin
Border avenues and streets	Capitol Streets North East South Border Avenues Western Eastern Southern National Mall Constitution Independence President's Park Jackson Madison East Executive West Executive
Other streets	Benning Road Black Lives Matter Plaza Columbia Road Embassy Row Klingle Road MacArthur Boulevard Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue
Circles	Anna J. Cooper Banneker Barney Chevy Chase Columbus Dave Thomas Dupont Grant Logan Observatory Peace Scott Sheridan Sherman Tenley Thomas Truxton Ward Washington
Squares	Farragut Franklin Freedom Lafayette Lincoln McPherson Mount Vernon Seward Stanton Union
Parkways	Clara Barton George Washington Memorial Oxon Run Rock Creek and Potomac Suitland
Expressways	9th Street 12th Street Anacostia Center Leg E Street Kenilworth Avenue Potomac River Southeast Southwest