List of circles in Washington, D.C. Facts for Kids

Statue of John A. Logan in the center of Logan Circle

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 each of the 50 U.S. states 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.

Northwest
Northeast
Southeast
Southwest
Photos
See also

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
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, Belmont, and Kalorama Roads
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
Thomas 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, 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. There are possible plans to rebuild the circle
Unnamed circle at the intersection of New York Avenue, West Virginia Avenue, and Montana Avenue
Unnamed circle at the intersection of Brentwood Road, Bryant Street, and 13th Street

Southeast

Barney Circle – intersection of Pennsylvania and Kentucky Avenues 17th Street, and Southeast Boulevard, with an underpass for RFK Stadium parking
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

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