L'Enfant and the 5 Sided City Block

“Can you tell us where 505 C Street is?” The question broke stereotypes, as it came from the male driver; the girl in the passenger seat holding directions and an unfurled map looked hopeful but remained silent. It is not uncommon for tourists and locals alike to get lost and ask for directions in DC.

I was walking with my friend Carolyn on 7th Street over 4 years ago, just south of the Air and Space Museum. This was my new city, and I was prepared to give as simple and clear directions as possible. To be honest, I get nervous when motorists ask for directions at a red light not because I might fail to know the address, but rather because the destination is so far removed and the path to get there so convoluted from where they are that I would need the time of at least 3-4 red lights to communicate the course. Yes, a minimum of 3-4 red lights!

But 505 C Street was just around the corner. I could handle this. I told them within a few turns how to get there. They looked relieved, the light turned green, and they sped off down the street.

“I wonder why they want to go there? Is anything even there besides L’Enfant Plaza?” I asked. After a slight pause Carolyn and I looked at each other with recognition. “Ahh, I forgot to ask which quadrant they were looking for!” I might have blushed from embarrassment.

Now I never forget. The first piece of information you need to know when determining where you are or where you want to be in DC is identifying the quadrant. If you drew a plus sign on a map with the node on the Capitol, you would divide DC into four quadrants (see fig. 1). Appropriately named by their cardinal direction, North Capitol, East Capitol, and South Capitol Streets do just that, with the Mall to the west making up the final arm. That’s Mall with a capital M, home of the Smithsonian (though not all museums are located here) and a smattering of memorials, including the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.
Addresses thus come with quadrant identification, even if the street fits snuggly within one quadrant without crossing over to another (e.g. Wisconsin Ave, NW). The Hyatt Hotel is west and north of the Capitol, so it gets the NW designation. As an aside, the NW is the largest and wealthiest quadrant.

Numbered streets run north-south and radiate from the Capitol (see fig. 2). Lettered streets run east-west and begin with A near the Capitol (see fig. 3). After the alphabet has been exhausted, street names take on two syllable words (Belmont, Clifton, Euclid...), and once the alphabet has run its course, three syllable words begin the alphabet again (Allison, Buchanan, Crittenden...).
Main avenues are typically on diagonal streets and are named after the 50 states (or other random names - see fig 4.) Diagonal streets get to exist wherever they very well please, are scattered throughout the city, and offer several options to drivers to get from A to B. But driving presents a whole other set of issues, one way streets and confusing circles being the least of every driver's concern. It's those roads that change traffic direction depending on the time of day that'll getcha! But I digress...
While these are general rules, they can and will be broken. Legend has it that the city's layout was designed to confuse any future enemy who would invade the streets of DC. If that wasn't L'Enfant's intent, it is working nonetheless. What seems to be a regular grid, often is not; simply going "around the block" loses meaning when four turns doesn't complete the revolution. If you get lost, just remember to know which quadrant you want before asking a stranger for directions – you’ll be three quarters of the way there!