| Pennsylvania Avenue | |
| Length Mi: | 35.1 |
| Width: | 160 feet |
| Location: | Washington, D.C. and Prince George's County, Maryland, U.S. |
Pennsylvania Avenue is a primarily diagonal street in Washington, D.C. that connects the United States Capitol with the White House and then crosses northwest Washington, D.C. to Georgetown. Traveling through southeast Washington from the Capitol, it enters Prince George's County, Maryland, and becomes MD Route 4 (MD 4) and then MD Route 717 in Upper Marlboro, and finally Stephanie Roper Highway.
The section of the avenue between the White House, which is sometimes referred to by its address "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue", and the Capitol forms the basis for the Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site and is sometimes referred to as "America's Main Street";[1] it is the location of official parades and processions, and periodic protest marches. Pennsylvania Avenue is an important commuter road and is part of the National Highway System.[2] [3]
The avenue runs for 5.8miles in Washington, D.C., but the 1.2miles of Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House to the United States Capitol building is far and away the most famed section of the avenue. It continues within the city for 3.5miles, from the southeast corner of the Capitol grounds through the Capitol Hill neighborhood, and over the Anacostia River on the John Philip Sousa Bridge. Crossing most of Prince George's County, Maryland, it ends 9.5miles from the Washington, D.C. border in Maryland at the junction with MD 717 in Upper Marlboro, where the name changes to Stephanie Roper Highway, for a total length of 15.3miles. Stephanie Roper Highway used to be Pennsylvania Avenue, but was renamed in 2012. In addition to its street names, in Maryland it is designated as Maryland Route 4.
Northwest of the White House, Pennsylvania Avenue runs for 1.4miles to its end at M Street N.W. in Georgetown, just beyond the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge over Rock Creek. From 1862 to 1962, streetcars ran the length of the avenue from Georgetown to the Anacostia River.
Although Pennsylvania Avenue extends six miles (10 km) in Washington, D.C., the expanse between the White House and the United States Capitol constitutes the ceremonial heart of the nation. It was designed by Pierre Charles L'Enfant, and was one of the earliest streets constructed in the city. The width of the avenue was set at 160 feet, identical to the narrowest points of the Champs Elysees in Paris that L'Enfant is likely to have examined. The first documented reference to the street as Pennsylvania Avenue was in a 1791 letter from Thomas Jefferson. One theory behind the avenue's name is that it was named for Pennsylvania as consolation for moving the capital from Philadelphia in 1800 and in recognition of Pennsylvania's historical significance in the nation's founding.[4] Both Jefferson and Washington considered Pennsylvania Avenue an important feature of the new capital. The stretch outside the White House was established in 1804 when President Jefferson ordered the road to be cut through President's Park. For decades, Pennsylvania Avenue was a wide dirt road ridiculed by Jefferson as "The Great Serbonian Bog", he planted it with rows of fast-growing Populus nigra.
In 1832, in an effort to tame dust and dirt on Pennsylvania Avenue, it was paved using the macadam method. But over the years, other pavement methods were trialed on the avenue: cobblestones in 1849 followed by Belgian blocks and then, in 1871, wooden blocks.
Pennsylvania Avenue once provided an unobstructed view between the White House and the Capitol. The construction of an expansion to the Treasury Building blocked this view, and supposedly President Andrew Jackson did this on purpose. Relations between the president and Congress were strained, and Jackson did not want to see the Capitol out his window,[5] though in reality the Treasury Building was simply built on what was cheap government land.
In 1876, as part of an initiative begun by President Ulysses S. Grant to see the city's streets improved, Pennsylvania Avenue was paved with asphalt by Civil War veteran William Averell[6] using Trinidad and Guanoco lakes asphalt.[7]
In 1959, Pennsylvania Avenue was extended from the Washington, D.C. border with Maryland to Dower House Road in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.[8]
On September 30, 1965, portions of the avenue and surrounding area were designated the Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site. The National Park Service administers this area which includes the United States Navy Memorial, Old Post Office Tower, and Pershing Park. After the Great Depression in the 1930s and the move of affluent families to suburbs in the 1950s, Pennsylvania Avenue became increasingly blighted. John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson tried to redevelop the street as part of the New Frontier and Great Society reforms, but the avenue further declined after the 1968 Washington, D.C., riots in the aftermath of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
In 1972, Congress created the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation (PADC) to rehabilitate the street between the Capitol and the White House, an area seen as blighted. The new organization was given the mandate of developing Pennsylvania Avenue "in a manner suitable to its ceremonial, physical, and historic relationship to the legislative and executive branches of the federal government".[4]
In the 1980s, renovations were made to the Willard Hotel, the Old Post Office, and Washington Union Station, each located on or adjacent to Pennsylvania Avenue.
In 2010, the District of Columbia designated Pennsylvania Avenue from the southwestern terminus of John Philip Sousa Bridge to the Maryland state line to be a "D.C. Great Street". The city spent $430 million to beautify the street and improve the roadway.[9]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses along Pennsylvania Avenue faced significant challenges and closures. With reduced tourism, remote work trends keeping office buildings quieter, and a historical lack of the avenue itself being a primary destination, many establishments struggled to sustain operations. The combination of decreased foot traffic and shifting consumer behavior further strained local businesses, leading to closures as they struggled to adapt to the new economic realities.
In 2022, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) launched the Pennsylvania Avenue Initiative to revitalize the iconic thoroughfare by transforming it into a dynamic public space and transportation corridor. Accelerated by the changes brought about by remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, the initiative aims to re-imagine Pennsylvania Avenue from its current eight-lane design predominantly catering to cars to a more inclusive and equitable space. This vision includes accommodating a variety of activities and users, such as pedestrians, cyclists, buses, emergency vehicles, and delivery trucks, alongside hosting events and fostering community engagement.
To achieve this transformation, the initiative involves collaborative efforts between NCPC and consulting teams like HR&A Advisors. They are tasked with updating traffic studies to explore reallocating roadway space for new sidewalks, bike lanes, transit-only lanes, mid-block crossings, and other streetscape elements. Additionally, the initiative prioritizes refining early design concepts into preferred alternatives based on economic feasibility, stakeholder input, and environmental considerations. Ultimately, the goal is to elevate Pennsylvania Avenue's status as a premier public space in Washington, DC, comparable to other renowned urban boulevards around the world.
In 2024, NCPC is expected to announce a second consultant team to help develop the New Pennsylvania Avenue Plan that will address design and infrastructure improvements along the corridor and adjoining public spaces.
Ever since an impromptu procession formed around Jefferson's second inauguration, every U.S. president except Ronald Reagan in his second inauguration in January 1985 has paraded down Pennsylvania Avenue after taking the oath of office. Reagan paraded up the avenue for his first inauguration in January 1981 but not following his second inauguration in 1985 because freezing temperatures and high winds made it dangerous.
From William Henry Harrison to Gerald Ford, the funeral corteges of seven of the eight presidents who died in office and two former presidents followed this route. Franklin Roosevelt was the only president who died in office whose cortege did not follow this route.
Abraham Lincoln's funeral cortege solemnly proceeded along Pennsylvania Avenue in 1865; only weeks later, the end of the American Civil War was celebrated with the Grand Review of the Armies when the Army of the Potomac paraded more joyously along the avenue. The funeral processions of both Lyndon B. Johnson and Ford funeral corteges proceeded down Pennsylvania Avenue. For Lyndon Johnson, the cortege was along Pennsylvania Avenue from U.S. Capitol to National City Christian Church, where he often worshiped and where his funeral was held. Ford's funeral went up Pennsylvania Avenue, pausing at the White House en route to Washington National Cathedral, where his funeral was held.
In addition to serving as a location for official functions, Pennsylvania Avenue is a traditional parade and protest route of ordinary citizens. During the depression of the 1890s, Jacob Coxey marched 500 supporters down Pennsylvania Avenue to the U.S. Capitol to demand federal aid for the unemployed. Similarly, on the eve of Woodrow Wilson's 1913 inauguration, Alice Paul masterminded a parade, the Woman Suffrage Procession, highlighting the women's suffrage movement. In July 1932, a contingent of the Bonus Expeditionary Force carried flags up Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, where they formed picket lines.
Pennsylvania Avenue also has served as a background for more lighthearted celebrations, including a series of Shriner's parades in the 1920s and 1930s. Thomas and Concepcion Picciotto are the founders of the White House Peace Vigil, the longest-running anti-nuclear peace vigil in the nation at Lafayette Square on the 1600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue.[10] [11]
After the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, the Secret Service closed the portion of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House to all vehicular traffic. Pedestrian and bicycle traffic, however, was still permitted on the sidewalk. After the September 11 attacks, all traffic in front of the White House was prohibited, and traffic near the White House is redirected to H Street or Constitution Avenue, both of which eventually link back with Pennsylvania Avenue.
In 2002, the National Capital Planning Commission invited several prominent landscape architects to submit proposals for the redesign of Pennsylvania Avenue at the White House, with the intention that the security measures would be woven into an overall plan for the precinct and a more welcoming public space might be created. The winning entry by a firm run by Michael Van Valkenburgh proposed a very simple approach to planting, paving, and the integration of required security steps. Construction was completed in 2004.[12]
From east to west:
The National Theatre and Warner Theatre use Pennsylvania Avenue mailing addresses, although the theaters are nearby on E Street and 13th Street respectively.
See main article: Metrobus (Washington, D.C.). The following Metrobus routes travel along the street (listed from west to east):
See main article: DC Circulator. The DC Circulator travels along the street:
The following MTA Maryland Commuter Bus routes travel along the street:
See main article: TheBus (Prince George's County). The following routes of TheBus serve Pennsylvania Ave. in Prince George's County:
See main article: Washington Metro. The following Washington Metro stations have entrances located near Pennsylvania Avenue: