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'{{Short description|Thoroughfare in Washington, D.C., and Maryland}} {{About||the section of Connecticut Avenue in Maryland|Maryland Route 185|the light rail station in Maryland|Connecticut Avenue station}} {{More citations needed|date=July 2008}} {{Infobox street | name =Connecticut Avenue | native_name = | marker_image = | image =Connecticut Avenue NW facing north towards Dupont Circle.jpg | caption = Connecticut Avenue, looking north, from [[Farragut Square]] | other_name = Connecticut Avenue NW | former_names = | postal_code = | addresses = | length_m = | length_ft = | length_mi = | length_km = | length_ref = | width = | location = [[Washington, D.C.]], U.S. | client = | maint = [[District of Columbia Department of Transportation|DDOT]] | coordinates = {{coord|38|58|07|N|77|04|38|W|display=inline,title|scale:100000}} | direction_a = South | terminus_a = [[Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C.|Lafayette Square]] | direction_b = North | terminus_b = {{jct|state=MD|MD|185|road|[[Chevy Chase Circle]]}} | junction = {{jct|state=DC|US|29|road|[[Farragut Square]]}}<br>[[Dupont Circle]]<br>[[Florida Avenue (Washington, D.C.)|Florida Avenue]]<br>[[Columbia Road]]<br>Calvert Street<br>Tilden Street<br>Nebraska Avenue<br>Military Road | commissioning_date = | construction_start_date = | completion_date = | inauguration_date = <!-- {{Start date|YYYY|MM|DD}} --> | demolition_date = | north = | south = | east = | west = }} '''Connecticut Avenue''' is a major thoroughfare in the [[Northwest, Washington, D.C.|Northwest]] quadrant of [[Washington, D.C.]], and suburban [[Montgomery County, Maryland]]. It is one of the diagonal avenues radiating from the [[White House]], and the segment south of [[Florida Avenue]] was one of the original streets in [[Pierre L'Enfant|Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant]]'s plan for Washington.<ref>L'Enfant identified himself as "Peter Charles L'Enfant" during most of his life, while residing in the United States. He wrote this name on his [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3850.ct000512 "Plan of the city intended for the permanent seat of the government of t(he) United States ...."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160111230315/http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3850.ct000512 |date=2016-01-11 }} (Washington, D.C.) and on other legal documents. However, during the early 1900s, a French ambassador to the U.S., [[Jean Jules Jusserand]], popularized the use of L'Enfant's birth name, "Pierre Charles L'Enfant". (Reference: Bowling, Kenneth R (2002). ''Peter Charles L'Enfant: vision, honor, and male friendship in the early American Republic.'' George Washington University, Washington, D.C. {{ISBN|978-0-9727611-0-9}}). The United States Code states in ''[https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2002-title40/pdf/USCODE-2002-title40-subtitleII-partA-chap33-sec3309.pdf 40 U.S.C. 3309] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210402174922/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2002-title40/pdf/USCODE-2002-title40-subtitleII-partA-chap33-sec3309.pdf |date=2021-04-02 }}: "(a) In General.&mdash;The purposes of this chapter shall be carried out in the District of Columbia as nearly as may be practicable in harmony with the plan of Peter Charles L'Enfant."'' The [[National Park Service]] identifies L'Enfant as ''[http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/Wash/text.htm#washington Major Peter Charles L'Enfant] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140405134623/http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/Wash/text.htm#washington |date=2014-04-05 }}'' and as '' [http://www.nps.gov/history/Nr/travel/presidents/washington_monument.html Major Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100228094032/http://www.nps.gov/history/Nr/travel/presidents/washington_monument.html |date=February 28, 2010 }}'' on its website.</ref> A five-mile segment north of [[Rock Creek (Potomac River tributary)|Rock Creek]] was built in the 1890s by a [[The Chevy Chase Land Company|real-estate developer]].<ref name="French">{{Cite journal |last=French |first=Roderick S. |date=1973 |title=Chevy Chase Village in the Context of the National Suburban Movement, 1870-1900 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40067746 |journal=Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C. |volume=49 |pages=300–329 |issn=0897-9049 |access-date=2022-05-24 |archive-date=2022-05-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523174730/https://www.jstor.org/stable/40067746 |url-status=live }}</ref> == History == Connecticut Avenue was first extended north from Rock Creek around 1890 as part of an audacious plan to create a [[streetcar suburb]]—today's [[Chevy Chase, Maryland]]—several miles distant from built-up Washington, D.C. The area northwest of today's Calvert Street NW was largely farmland when [[Francis G. Newlands|Francis Newlands]], a sitting Congressman from Nevada, quietly acquired more than 1,700 acres in Northwest D.C. and Maryland along a five-mile stretch from today's [[Woodley Park (Washington, D.C.)|Woodley Park]] neighborhood in D.C. to Jones Bridge Road in Maryland's [[Montgomery County, Maryland|Montgomery County]].<ref name="French" /> Meanwhile, he acquired control of the nascent [[Rock Creek Railway]], which had a charter to build a streetcar line in the District. Beginning in 1888, Newlands and his partners graded a roadway, laid streetcar track down its center, and erected a [[Klingle Valley Bridge|bridge]] over a Rock Creek tributary. The road proceeded in a straight, 3.3-mile line north-northwest from today's Calvert Street to today's [[Chevy Chase Circle]], then another 1.85 miles due north to today's Chevy Chase Lake Drive. The streetcars began operating along the line's full length in 1892, connecting to their terminus at 18th and U Streets NW via the railway's iron trestle across the [[Rock Creek (Potomac River tributary)|Rock Creek]] gorge.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Duke Ellington Bridge, HAER |url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/dc/dc0700/dc0760/data/dc0760data.pdf |access-date=2022-05-24 |archive-date=2023-04-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423021306/https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/dc/dc0700/dc0760/data/dc0760data.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1907, the [[Taft Bridge]] across Rock Creek connected the southern and northern segments of Connecticut Avenue.<ref name="inventory">{{cite web |url=http://www.planning.dc.gov/planning/frames.asp?doc=/planning/lib/planning/preservation/hp_inventory/inventory_narrative_sep_2004.pdf |title=District of Columbia - Inventory of Historic Sites |date=September 1, 2004 |publisher=[[Government of the District of Columbia]] |access-date=July 16, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618002552/http://planning.dc.gov/planning/frames.asp?doc=%2Fplanning%2Flib%2Fplanning%2Fpreservation%2Fhp_inventory%2Finventory_narrative_sep_2004.pdf |archive-date=June 18, 2009 }}</ref> In 1932, the Newlands bridge over the tributary was replaced by the current [[Klingle Valley Bridge]]. ==Route description== ===District of Columbia=== [[Image:Connecticut Avenue - Dupont Circle.JPG|thumb|The Connecticut Avenue tunnel runs underneath [[Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C.|Dupont Circle]].]] [[Image:Connecticut Avenue in Dupont Circle.JPG|thumb|Connecticut Avenue, near the intersection of [[Florida Avenue (Washington, D.C.)|Florida Avenue]]. The [[Washington Monument]] is visible in the background.]] Connecticut Avenue begins just north of the White House at [[President's Park|Lafayette Square]]. It is interrupted by [[Farragut Square]]. North of Farragut Square and [[K Street (Washington, D.C.)|K Street]], Connecticut Avenue is one of the major streets in [[Downtown Washington, D.C.|downtown Washington]], with high-end restaurants, historical buildings such as [[Sedgwick Gardens]], hotels, and shopping. As Connecticut Avenue approaches the [[Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C.|Dupont Circle]] neighborhood, it splits at N Street into a through roadway and [[frontage road|service roadways]]. The through roadway tunnels under Dupont Circle, while the service roadways intersect the outer roadway of the circle. The through roadway and service roadways rejoin at R Street. Originally, there was no tunnel, and all vehicular traffic on Connecticut Avenue went through the circle. The tunnel was built in 1949 to serve vehicles and a [[Streetcars in Washington, D.C.|Capital Transit]] streetcar line that operated until 1962. After crossing Florida Avenue near the [[Hilton Washington]] hotel, Connecticut Avenue narrows and winds between the [[Kalorama, Washington, D.C.|Kalorama]] neighborhoods. (The [[Kalorama Triangle]] district extends eastward from Connecticut, while [[Sheridan-Kalorama]] lies to the west.) The avenue then crosses [[Rock Creek Park]] on the [[William Howard Taft Bridge]] and goes through upper [[Northwest, Washington, D.C.|Northwest]] Washington, D.C., including the [[Woodley Park]], [[Cleveland Park]], Forest Hills, and [[Chevy Chase, Washington, D.C.|Chevy Chase, D.C.]] neighborhoods. Between Woodley Park and Cleveland Park, Connecticut Avenue is carried over a deep [[Klingle Road|valley]] on another [[Connecticut Avenue Bridge over Klingle Valley|bridge]]. Numerous older, [[Art Deco]] high-rise apartment buildings line the 3000 block, with slightly newer apartment buildings in the 4000 and 5000 blocks. The [[National Zoological Park (United States)|National Zoological Park]] sits halfway between the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan and Cleveland Park [[Washington Metro|Metro]] stations. A bit further north is the strikingly futuristic [[Intelsat headquarters|former headquarters]] of [[International Telecommunications Satellite Organization|Intelsat]]; a bit further south are the [[Omni Shoreham Hotel]] and the landmark [[Marriott Wardman Park|Wardman Park Hotel]] building, once the city's largest hotel. This section is also a major commuter route; until 2020, it had [[reversible lane]]s along most of its length that operated during the morning and evening rush hours (7&ndash;9:30&nbsp;a.m. and 4&ndash;6:30&nbsp;p.m.). It connects with the [[Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway]] via 24th Street. Mid-century-era high-rise apartments line the avenue, with elegant, older detached homes on shady side streets. The road passes the main campus of the [[University of the District of Columbia]] near the [[Forest Hills (Washington, D.C.)|Van Ness]] metrorail station. Connecticut Avenue is an arterial route in the [[National Highway System (United States)|National Highway System]] between [[K Street (Washington, D.C.)|K Street]] and Nebraska Avenue. ===Maryland=== {{Further|Maryland Route 185}} Connecticut Avenue leaves the District of Columbia at Chevy Chase Circle, at the intersection of Connecticut and [[Western Avenue (Washington, D.C.)|Western Avenue]]s. Upon entering Maryland, it gains the route designation [[Maryland State Highway 185]] and runs through the [[Chevy Chase, Maryland]], postal area. This stretch is lined by the Chevy Chase Club, the former National [[4-H]] Youth Conference Center, and [[Columbia Country Club]]. After interchanging with the [[Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway)|Capital Beltway]] at Exit 33, Connecticut Avenue enters [[Kensington, Maryland|Kensington]], where it is the major north-south street of the central business district. Connecticut Avenue long ended at University Boulevard ([[Maryland State Highway 193]]). Then Concord Avenue was extended northward to form an extension of Connecticut Avenue that passes through [[Wheaton, Maryland|Wheaton]] and [[Aspen Hill, Maryland|Aspen Hill]]. The state route designation ends at [[Georgia Avenue (Washington, D.C.)|Georgia Avenue]] ([[Maryland State Highway 97]]). Connecticut Avenue, now simply a local street, continues past Georgia Avenue and ends at Leisure World Boulevard. ==Transit service== === Former streetcar lines === For more than six decades, Connecticut Avenue was host to various [[Tram|streetcar]] lines. The first was the Connecticut Avenue and Park Railway (soon absorbed by the [[Metropolitan Railroad]]), which opened in April 1873 and ran from the [[White House]] to [[Florida Avenue|Boundary Avenue]].<ref name="WashHeights">{{cite web |last1=Trieschmann |first1=Laura V. |last2=Kuhn |first2=Patti |last3=Rispoli |first3=Megan |last4=Jenkins |first4=Ellen |last5=Breiseth |first5=Elizabeth, Architectural Historians, EHT Traceries, Inc. |date=July 2006 |title=Washington Heights National Register of Historical Places Registration Form |url=https://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/publication/attachments/Washington%20Heights%20Non%20Draft%20Version_0.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514132509/https://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/publication/attachments/Washington%20Heights%20Non%20Draft%20Version_0.pdf |archive-date=May 14, 2021 |access-date=2007-01-19 |publisher=[[Government of the District of Columbia#Agencies|DC.gov: Office of Planning]]}}</ref> In 1890, the [[Rock Creek Railway]] began operating from a terminus on Boundary Avenue two blocks east of Connecticut Avenue; its streetcars ran across the Rock Creek gorge on an iron bridge near today's [[Duke Ellington Bridge]], then turned north onto Connecticut near today's Calvert Street intersection. The line continued down the middle of Connecticut Avenue to Chevy Chase Circle, then ran on to its terminus at Chevy Chase Lake, an amusement park just south of today's Jones Bridge Road.<ref name="Laws">{{cite book |author=Office of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lrPplIV1LZEC&pg=RA2-PA1 |title=Laws Relating to Street-railway Franchises in the District of Columbia |publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|Government Printing Office]] |year=1896 |location=Washington, D.C. |via=[[Google Books]] |access-date=2023-08-15 |archive-date=2023-07-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230716061541/https://books.google.com/books?id=lrPplIV1LZEC&pg=RA2-PA1 |url-status=live }}</ref> A third streetcar line, the [[Chevy Chase Lake & Kensington Railway]] (later, the Kensington Railway Company) began operations in 1895, running north from Chevy Chase Lake on Connecticut Avenue for a half mile before diverging to the right and heading on to [[Kensington, Maryland]]. Streetcar operations on Connecticut north of Rock Creek ended in 1935; their service was [[Rail replacement bus service|replaced by buses]].<ref>{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=1935-09-14 |title=Bus Service Schedules Posted |pages=1 |work=The Washington Star |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026749/1935-09-14/ed-1/seq-13/ |access-date=2023-06-12 |issn=1941-0697}}</ref> "It was the most significant District streetcar abandonment up to that time", the ''Washington Post'' would write.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Eisen |first=Jack |date=September 15, 1985 |title=50 Years of Buses |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1985/09/15/50-years-of-buses/4c79abf9-395e-47a7-8627-554a07d5388b/?utm_term=.da1cc7a7b81e |access-date=June 11, 2023 |archive-date=February 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205002751/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1985/09/15/50-years-of-buses/4c79abf9-395e-47a7-8627-554a07d5388b/?utm_term=.da1cc7a7b81e |url-status=live }}</ref> ===Metrorail=== The [[Red Line (Washington Metro)|Red Line]] of the [[Washington Metro]] subway system runs beneath Connecticut Avenue. Metro stations along or near Connecticut Avenue include: * [[Farragut West Station|Farragut West]] {{rail color box|system=WMATA|line=Blue}} {{rail color box|system=WMATA|line=Orange}} {{rail color box|system=WMATA|line=Silver}} * [[Farragut North Station|Farragut North]] {{rail color box|system=WMATA|line=Red}} * [[Dupont Circle Station|Dupont Circle]] {{rail color box|system=WMATA|line=Red}} * [[Woodley Park Station|Woodley Park]] {{rail color box|system=WMATA|line=Red}} * [[Cleveland Park Station|Cleveland Park]] {{rail color box|system=WMATA|line=Red}} * [[Van Ness – UDC Station|Van Ness-UDC]] {{rail color box|system=WMATA|line=Red}} ===Metrobus=== The following [[List of Metrobus routes (Washington, D.C.)|Metrobus]] routes travel along the street (listed from south to north): * 42, 43 (Columbia Road to Farragut Square) * N2, N4, N6 (southbound only, from Dupont Circle to Farragut Square) * L1, L2 (Chevy Chase Circle to Farragut Square) * H2 (Van Ness Street to Porter Street) * L8 (Aspen Hill to Friendship Heights) ===Ride On=== The following [[Ride On (bus)|Ride On]] routes travel along the street (listed from south to north): * 1, 11 (East West Highway to Chevy Chase Circle) * 34 (Bel Pre Road to Veirs Mill Road, and later University Boulevard to Knowles Avenue) * 41 (Bel Pre Road to Weller Road) ===MARC Train=== The following [[MARC Train]] stop lies on the street: * [[Kensington (MARC station)|Kensington Station]] {{rail color box|system=MARC|line=Brunswick}} ==Notes== {{Commons category|Connecticut Avenue (Washington, D.C.)}} {{Reflist}} {{Streets in Washington, DC}} {{Chevy Chase}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Roads in Montgomery County, Maryland]] [[Category:Streets in Washington, D.C.]] [[Category:Dupont Circle]] [[Category:Roads with a reversible lane]]'