.jpg/2000px-2020.06.07_Black_Lives_Matter_Plaza,_Washington,_DC_USA_159_80045_(cropped).jpg)
Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
16th Street NW
16th Street Northwest, briefly known as the Avenue of the Presidents, is a prominent north-south boulevard in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. The street was laid out as part of the 1791 L'Enfant Plan, which served as the original blueprint for the city. The street begins just north of the White House, across from Lafayette Square in the President's Park, and continues north along the Washington meridian until Blair Circle.
The street passes through several notable landmarks and thoroughfares, including K Street, Scott Circle, Meridian Hill Park, Rock Creek Park before crossing Eastern Avenue into Silver Spring, Maryland, where it ends at Georgia Avenue. From K Street to the District line, it is part of the National Highway System, while the Maryland portion is designated Maryland Route 390. The entire street is 6.4 miles (10.3 km) long. Part of the street is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Sixteenth Street Historic District. From June 2020 to March 2025, the section immediately north of the White House was known officially as Black Lives Matter Plaza, featuring a large-scale mural of the wordmark on the street.
16th Street was developed by Pierre Charles L'Enfant as part of the 1791 L'Enfant Plan, the foundational urban plan of Washington.
In 1920, more than 500 trees were planted along 16th Street between Alaska Avenue and Varnum Street to honor fallen soldiers from World War I. Today, the 16th Street World War I Memorial Trees and their corresponding markers have largely been lost to history.
In July 2005, just before Congress's summer recess, Texas Republican congressman Henry Bonilla quietly introduced resolution H.R. 3525 to rename 16th Street NW "Ronald Reagan Boulevard" in honor of the former president of the United States. Mayor Anthony A. Williams objected on the grounds that the proposal would have changed Pierre L'Enfant's 1791 design for the city and cost an estimated $1 million for new signs and maps. The plan was ultimately quashed by Rep. Tom Davis, chairman of the House Government Reform Committee and a fellow Republican representing Washington's Virginia suburbs.
On June 5, 2020, during the George Floyd protests in Washington, D.C., the city's Department of Public Works painted the words "Black Lives Matter" in 35-foot yellow capital letters on 16th Street NW near the White House and Lafayette Square, with the help of the department's MuralsDC program. The D.C. flag accompanied the text. Later that day, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that part of the street had been ceremonially renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza.
On June 6, 2020, activists altered the mural. They removed the stars from the D.C. flag, changing it to an equals sign, and added the words "defund the police" so that the mural read "Black Lives Matter = Defund the Police". The plaza was removed in March 2025.
Early in the city's history, many foreign countries opened their embassies on 16th Street because of its proximity to the White House. Many religious denominations followed with churches, earning the street the nickname "Church Row." These include Foundry Methodist (attended by Presidents Hayes and Clinton), First Baptist (attended by Presidents Truman and Carter), the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church which was originally named the First Colored Baptist Church of Washington, D.C. (visited twice by President Barack Obama), St. John's ("Church of the Presidents"), All Souls Unitarian, Universalist National Memorial Church, St. John the Baptist Russian Orthodox Cathedral, founded in 1949 and built in 1958, and Third Church of Christ, Scientist, which was designed by an associate of I.M. Pei in 1971 and demolished in 2014. Shrine of the Sacred Heart is located just off of 16th Street. After most of the embassies moved to Embassy Row and other parts of the city, the churches became more prominent in 16th Street's identity. Other notable buildings include the Scottish Rite Masons' House of the Temple, Carnegie Institution for Science, Robert Simpson Woodward House, the Warder Mansion, Carter Barron Amphitheater, the Washington, D.C. Jewish Community Center, and the Toutorsky Mansion.
Hub AI
16th Street NW AI simulator
(@16th Street NW_simulator)
16th Street NW
16th Street Northwest, briefly known as the Avenue of the Presidents, is a prominent north-south boulevard in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. The street was laid out as part of the 1791 L'Enfant Plan, which served as the original blueprint for the city. The street begins just north of the White House, across from Lafayette Square in the President's Park, and continues north along the Washington meridian until Blair Circle.
The street passes through several notable landmarks and thoroughfares, including K Street, Scott Circle, Meridian Hill Park, Rock Creek Park before crossing Eastern Avenue into Silver Spring, Maryland, where it ends at Georgia Avenue. From K Street to the District line, it is part of the National Highway System, while the Maryland portion is designated Maryland Route 390. The entire street is 6.4 miles (10.3 km) long. Part of the street is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Sixteenth Street Historic District. From June 2020 to March 2025, the section immediately north of the White House was known officially as Black Lives Matter Plaza, featuring a large-scale mural of the wordmark on the street.
16th Street was developed by Pierre Charles L'Enfant as part of the 1791 L'Enfant Plan, the foundational urban plan of Washington.
In 1920, more than 500 trees were planted along 16th Street between Alaska Avenue and Varnum Street to honor fallen soldiers from World War I. Today, the 16th Street World War I Memorial Trees and their corresponding markers have largely been lost to history.
In July 2005, just before Congress's summer recess, Texas Republican congressman Henry Bonilla quietly introduced resolution H.R. 3525 to rename 16th Street NW "Ronald Reagan Boulevard" in honor of the former president of the United States. Mayor Anthony A. Williams objected on the grounds that the proposal would have changed Pierre L'Enfant's 1791 design for the city and cost an estimated $1 million for new signs and maps. The plan was ultimately quashed by Rep. Tom Davis, chairman of the House Government Reform Committee and a fellow Republican representing Washington's Virginia suburbs.
On June 5, 2020, during the George Floyd protests in Washington, D.C., the city's Department of Public Works painted the words "Black Lives Matter" in 35-foot yellow capital letters on 16th Street NW near the White House and Lafayette Square, with the help of the department's MuralsDC program. The D.C. flag accompanied the text. Later that day, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that part of the street had been ceremonially renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza.
On June 6, 2020, activists altered the mural. They removed the stars from the D.C. flag, changing it to an equals sign, and added the words "defund the police" so that the mural read "Black Lives Matter = Defund the Police". The plaza was removed in March 2025.
Early in the city's history, many foreign countries opened their embassies on 16th Street because of its proximity to the White House. Many religious denominations followed with churches, earning the street the nickname "Church Row." These include Foundry Methodist (attended by Presidents Hayes and Clinton), First Baptist (attended by Presidents Truman and Carter), the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church which was originally named the First Colored Baptist Church of Washington, D.C. (visited twice by President Barack Obama), St. John's ("Church of the Presidents"), All Souls Unitarian, Universalist National Memorial Church, St. John the Baptist Russian Orthodox Cathedral, founded in 1949 and built in 1958, and Third Church of Christ, Scientist, which was designed by an associate of I.M. Pei in 1971 and demolished in 2014. Shrine of the Sacred Heart is located just off of 16th Street. After most of the embassies moved to Embassy Row and other parts of the city, the churches became more prominent in 16th Street's identity. Other notable buildings include the Scottish Rite Masons' House of the Temple, Carnegie Institution for Science, Robert Simpson Woodward House, the Warder Mansion, Carter Barron Amphitheater, the Washington, D.C. Jewish Community Center, and the Toutorsky Mansion.