Washington, D.C

Getting Around

Laid out by engineer Pierre L'Enfant (1754–1825), Washington, D.C., was planned as a network of east-west and north-south streets intersected diagonally by wide avenues named for the states. The east-west streets are designated by letters of the alphabet; north-south streets by numbers. The Capitol Building is the central point from which the city is divided into quadrants (Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest). The 1.6-kilometer-(one-mile-) long National Mall runs westward from the Capitol, bounded by Constitution Avenue on the north and Independence Avenue on the south. Traffic circles, graced by monuments, fountains, and statues, are located at various intersections, with streets radiating outward diagonally from each one.