Massachusetts Avenue, colloquially 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 with essentially every major north-south street and passes numerous Washington landmarks. Indeed, it is a landmark itself, long considered the northern boundary of the downtown as well as home of Washington's Embassy Row. Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the... Pierre Charles LEnfant ( 2 August 1754 – 14 June 1825) designed the street plan of the Federal City in the United States, now known as Washington, DC. Born in France, he came to the American colonies as a military engineer with General Lafayette and became closely identified with the United... In politics a capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has an alternative meaning based on an alternative meaning of capital) is the principal city or town associated with its government. ... USGS satellite image of Washington, DC, taken April 26, 2002. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Embassy Row is the informal name for an area of a capital city with a number of embassies. ...

Massachusetts Avenue is tied with Pennsylvania Avenue as the widest road in the District, at 160 feet (48.8 m). The two roads are sisters of a sort. They run in parallel through much of the city, Massachusetts about seven blocks north of Pennsylvania. Mass. Ave. was long Washington's premier residential street, as Pennsylvania was once its most sought-after business address. Both are named after states with prominent roles in the American Revolution. Pennsylvania Avenue street sign, 2004. ... A U.S. state is any one of the 50 states (four of which officially favor the term commonwealth) which, together with the District of Columbia, form the United States of America. ... Before the Revolution: The 13 colonies are in red, the pink area was claimed by Great Britain after the French and Indian War, and the orange region was claimed by Spain. ...

History

Residential development along Massachusetts Avenue began in earnest in the 1870s, mostly around the circles west of 9th Street NW. These brick and brownstone structures reflected the Queen Anne, Richardsonian Romanesque, and Château styles in vogue at the time. Later, luxurious Georgian revival and Beaux Arts mansions inhabited by wealthy and influential Washingtonians sprouted along the boulevard. The section between Sheridan Circle and Scott Circle became known as "Millionaires' Row." Events and Trends Technology The invention of the telephone (1876) by Alexander Graham Bell. ... A weathered brick wall. ... Four-story brownstones in Harlem, just south of 125th Street, 2004 Brownstone is a brown stone historically quarried from New Jersey, and specifically rowhouses in the New York City area clad in it. ... The Queen Anne style of British and American architecture reached its greatest popularity in the last quarter of the 19th century, manifesting itself in a number of different ways, not identically in Great Britain and the United States of America. ... Categories: Stub | Architectural styles ... A château (French for castle; plural châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of gentry, usually French, with or without fortifications. ... Georgian architecture is the name given in English-speaking countries to the classic architectural styles current between about 1720 and 1840, named after the four British monarchs named George. ... ...

The Great Depression forced many to relinquish their homes on Millionaires' Row. After World War II, Massachusetts Avenue was seen as less fashionable than newer areas such as upper 16th Street. Many residences were sold and demolished to make way for office building construction, particularly around Dupont Circle and to its east. Many others, however, survived as embassies and society houses; the former Millionaires' Row is today well-known as Embassy Row. The Great Depression was a massive global economic recession (or depression) that ran from 1929 to 1941. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km (over 11 miles) into the air. ... 16th Street is a prominent north-south thoroughfare in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. Part of Pierre LEnfants design for the city, 16th Street begins just north of the White House accross Lafayette Park at H Street and continues due north in a straight line passing...

Several overlapping historic districts have been created to preserve the character of the remaining neighborhoods. The Massachusetts Avenue Historic District encompasses all buildings which front the road between 17th Street and Observatory Circle NW.

Course

Massachusetts Avenue begins at 19th Street Southeast, just to the west of the former D.C. General Hospital site near the D.C. Jail, one block north of Congressional Cemetery. At elevation with respect to the hospital, it commands a view of the Anacostia River. It proceeds in a northwesterly direction crosstown. At Lincoln Park it crosses into Northeast DC, into the Capitol Hill neighborhood, and converges briefly with Columbus Circle as it curves around Union Station before crossing into Northwest DC. Color-enhanced USGS satellite image of Washington, DC, taken April 26, 2002. ... Congressional Cemetery The Congressional Cemetery is an historic cemetery located near the Anacostia River in Washington, DC. As could be surmised from its name, it is the final resting place of many members of the United States Congress. ... The Anacostia River is a river that flows about 8. ... Color-enhanced USGS satellite image of Washington, DC, taken April 26, 2002. ... Capitol Hill, aside from being the common nickname for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, DC, stretching easterly behind the U.S. Capitol along wide avenues. ... Burnhams Union Station: the central block of the immense front façade of Union Station Union Station is the grand ceremonial train station designed to be the entrance to Washington, DC when it opened in 1907. ... Color-enhanced USGS satellite image of Washington, DC, taken April 26, 2002. ...

It intersects with Interstate 395 at H Street NW, and passes over Mount Vernon Square, site of the City Museum, in front of the Washington Convention Center. It passes through an underpass below Thomas Circle at 14th and M Streets NW, then around Scott Circle at 16th and N, also at which Embassy Row is sometimes reckoned to begin. Interstate 395 in Virginia is a 13 mile long spur route that begins at a junction with Interstate 95 in Springfield, Virginia and ends in downtown Washington, District of Columbia. ... Mount Vernon Square is a city square in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., U.S.A. It is located where the following streets would otherwise intersect: Massachusetts Avenue, New York Avenue, K Street, and 8th Street. ... The City Museum of Washington, DC, managed by the Historical Society of Wasington, DC, is dedicated to preserving and displaying the history of the city itself, in contrast to other museums which focus on Washingtons role as seat of the federal government. ... The Washington Convention Center is a new, 2. ...

Mass. Ave. passes through the inner ring of Dupont Circle then curves north at Sheridan Circle, paralleling Rock Creek to Belmont Road NW. On the other side it curves around the U.S. Naval Observatory, home of the official residence of the Vice President of the United States, also forming the southwest boundary of the Massachusetts Heights neighborhood. The Washington National Cathedral is situated at its intersection with Wisconsin Avenue, usually considered the end of Embassy Row. Aerial photograph of Dupont Circle. ... Rock Creek is also the name of several cities in the United States: Rock Creek, Alabama, Rock Creek, Minnesota, Rock Creek, Ohio, and Rock Creek, Wisconsin. ... Aerial view of USNO. The United States Naval Observatory (USNO) is one of the oldest scientific agencies in the United States. ... The Vice President of the United States is the second-highest executive official of the United States government, the person who is a heartbeat from the presidency. As first in the presidential line of succession, the Vice President becomes the new President of the United States upon the death, resignation... Washington National Cathedral was the site of two Presidential state funerals: for Dwight D. Eisenhower and Ronald W. Reagan, and a presidential burial in the cathedral mausoleum: Woodrow Wilson. ...

At Ward Circle it delineates the American University Park neighborhood from Spring Valley, passing to north of American University. It crosses the Washington-Montgomery County, Maryland border at Westmoreland Circle. In Maryland it continues signed as State Highway 396, meandering through residential sections of Bethesda until terminating at Goldsboro Road (Maryland State Highway 614). The intersection of Nebraska Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue in northwest Washington, District of Columbia. ... American University Park is located in North West Washington DC along Nebraska and Massachusetts Avenues, N.W. The neighborhood is named after the American University, which is located in the neighborhood. ... American University is a fully accredited and internationally renowned private coeducational university located at Ward Circle, straddling the Spring Valley and American University Park areas of Northwest Washington, DC. It currently has roughly 5,000 undergraduate students, and approximately the same number of graduate students. ... Location in the state of Maryland Formed 1776 Seat Rockville Area  - Total  - Water 1,313 km² (507 mi²) 30 km² (12 mi²) 2. ... State nickname: Old Line State; Free State Other U.S. States Capital Annapolis Largest city Baltimore Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Official languages English Area 32,160 km² (42nd)  - Land 25,338 km²  - Water 6,968 km² (21%) Population (2000)  - Population 5,296,486 (19th)  - Density 165 /km² (5th) Admission into... Maryland State Highway 396 is the route designation of the extension of Massachusetts Avenue from Washington, D.C., into Bethesda, Maryland. ... Panoramic view of downtown Bethesda Bethesda is an urbanized, but unincorporated, area in Montgomery County, Maryland, near Washington, D.C.. It takes its name from a church located there, the Bethesda Presbyterian Church (built 1820), which in turn was named from a passage in the Christian New Testament. ...

Other notable institutions located on Massachusetts Avenue include the National Postal Museum, the Heritage Foundation, the Georgetown University Law Center, the Cato Institute, the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, the Brookings Institution, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Numerous embassies and residences are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation itself makes its home on Mass. Ave. The National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C. is located across the street from Union Station and houses many interactive displays about the history of the United States Postal Service and of mail service around the world. ... The Heritage Foundation, a think tank located in Washington, D.C., is considered one of the worlds most influential right-wing public policy research institutes. ... The schools original sign, preserved on the north quad of the present-day campus. ... The Cato Institute is a non-profit public policy research foundation (think tank) with strong libertarian leanings (despite wide public perception that it is a conservative think-tank), headquartered in Washington, D.C. It is named after Catos Letters, a series of early 18th century British essays expounding the... SAIS in the Spring (Washington) The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), based in Washington D.C., is one of the worlds leading graduate schools devoted to the study of international affairs, economics, diplomacy, and policy research and education. ... The Brookings Institution is one of the oldest and best known liberalthink tanks in the United States. ... Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is a private nonprofit organization promoting international cooperation and active international engagement by the United States of America. ... The National Register of Historic Places is the USAs official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects worthy of preservation. ... The National Trust for Historic Preservation is an American organization which was founded in 1949. ...

External links

• Washington Places: Massachusetts Avenue, a project at the University of Virginia School of Architecture
• National Park Service: Massachusetts Avenue Historic District
• Embassy.org Embassy Row Tour