MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE
Scott Circle to Mt Vernon Square
Thomas Circle

Sanborn, 1904	Today

Thomas Circle, Facing NorthWest	Thomas Circle, Facing NorthEast

Vermont Avenue, Massachusetts Avenue, M Street, and 14th Street intersect to form Thomas Circle. Although the circle was set forth in L’Enfant’s original plan for Washington, D.C., it was not developed in the manner that L’Enfant intended it to be until 1879 when the Society of the Cumberland erected an equestrian statue of Major General George Thomas in the center of the circle. Prior to the installation of a streetcar line along 14th Street, development around the circle was primarily residential. Th e streetcar contributed to an increase in commercialization along 14th Street, and Thomas Circle emerged as a popular business location around the turn of the century. As a result, in 1933 the City widened Massachusetts Avenue from 50 feet to 80 feet to better accommodate traffic and, in 1940, devised a plan to tunnel Massachusetts Avenue underground. The construction of the underpass changed the neighborhood’s character from primarily residential to mostly commercial use. Despite the loss of the 1880 Portland Hotel and the c. 1843 Judge Andrew Wylie House on the southern edge of the Circle, a variety of land uses and architectural styles define the Circle’s perimeter. The Luther Place Memorial Church, which was built in 1870 in a Victorian Gothic style, punctuates much of the circle’s physical presence. At 14th Street and Massachusetts Avenue, the National City Christian Church was built by John Russell Pope and dedicated in 1930. The church is a larger-than-life rendition of New England frame churches in the English Georgian style and has hosted prominent members in its congregation, including Presidents James Garfield and Lyndon Johnson. Washington Plaza, a modern office building wi th reflective glass and a curved façade, is juxtaposed with the two churches. Additionally, the modernist-styled Ramada Inn and Holiday Inn offer a contrast to the historical architectural character of the area.

Thomas Circle, 1910

Portland Hotel, 1900