In L'Enfant's grand scheme for Washington, DC, 16th Street was envisioned as the primary entrance corridor from the north, terminating in the President's Park and the Whitehouse. Along the way, the important intersection with Massachusetts Avenue and Rhode Island Avenue was marked by Scott Circle. As the city evolved, the grandly scaled Meridian Hill Park was built as a northern terminus at the Florida Avenue intersection where the topograhy rises.

Prior to the late 1800's, Sixteenth Street's only settlement consisted of some small frame houses or shanties, brick kilns and small farms, many inhabited by African Americans.  The road was unimproved and there were complaints of odors and swampy conditions.    By 1900, however, Sixteenth Street had begun to take form, as it became a popular location for Senators, prominent doctors and wealthy residents who wanted to live outside the hustle and bustle of the commercial core.  The 1880's and 1890's saw the development of the some of the residential and institutional structures that have lasted to the present day.  By 1900, there were several new churchs and hotels.

(double click for 1903 figure ground map of Sixteenth Street)

The 1950's brought a change in zoning which allowed office development in the southernmost section of Sixteenth Street.  This resulted in the residential densification of the northern portions of the street.  At least four new apartment buildings were constructed between O and Corcoran Streets during this time.

In 1978, Sixteenth Street between Scott Circle and Florida Avenue was designated a historic district, protecting historic structures (those built prior to 1940) from demolition or significant change.

At the end of the twentieth century, Sixteenth Street has a strong design integrity based on the constant building setback and unified streetscape. This has been recently improved with new brick sidewalks, granite curbs and new trees to replace those missing. It is a street of eclectic architecture which varies in scale from townhouses to mid-rise apartment buildings. There are also wonderful churchs and monumental institutions in the middle section.. The gradient of uses and densities from apartment buildings and townhouses around Meridian Hill Park to mid-rise office buildings near Lafayette Square lends significance to the hierachical composition of the nation's capitol.

The design analysis of 16th Street focuses on its evolution in the twentieth century. Figure ground drawings, based on Baist and Sanborn maps, have been produced for 1903, 1954 and 1999. Their analysis reveals the evolutionary changes that have been made in building scale and form. Historical photos are included where available. The current status of 16th Street is discussed in greater depth with photographic documentation on a block by block basis.

Research for the 16th Street secion of this web site was conducted by students in the Design of Cities course during Fall 1999. Four students (Tianjin Luo, Eddie Nelms, Susanne Allan and Kevin Petersen) and their instructor each produced web site segments during Spring 2000. Great credit is due to our technical advisor Margaret Helner for her patient assistance.

Proposal for the Lincoln Memorial at Meridian Hill by
architect John Russell Pope in 1911.

Works Consulted for this project:

Applewhite, E.J. Washington Itself: An Informal Guide to the Capital of the United States. New York: Knopf, 1981.

Kousoulas, Claudia D. and George W. Kousoulas. Contemporary Architecture in Washington D.C. New York: Wiley and Sons, 1995.

Carson, Jeffrey R., Kohler, Sue A. Sixteenth Street Architecture. Volumes I and II. Washington, D.C.: Commission of Fine Arts, 1978.

Weeks, Christopher. AIA Guide to the Architecture of Washington D.C. 3rd edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1994.