Truxton Circle is a neighborhood of

Northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each s ...

Washington, D.C. Politically, it is located in Ward 5. Truxton Circle is bordered by New Jersey Avenue to the west;

Florida Avenue Florida Avenue is a major street in Washington, D.C. It was originally named Boundary Street, because it formed the northern boundary of the Federal City under the 1791 L'Enfant Plan. With the growth of the city beyond its original borders, Bounda ...

to the north; New York Avenue to the south; and

North Capitol Street North Capitol Street is a street in Washington, D.C. that separates the Northwest and Northeast quadrants of the city. Route description North Capitol Street begins at D Street in Lower Senate Park, between Louisiana and Delaware Avenues north ...

to the east. It is bordered by the following neighborhoods: to the north by Bloomingdale and LeDroit Park; to the east by Eckington; to the west by

Shaw Shaw may refer to: Places Australia *Shaw, Queensland Canada * Shaw Street, a street in Toronto England *Shaw, Berkshire, a village * Shaw, Greater Manchester, a location in the parish of Shaw and Crompton * Shaw, Swindon, a suburb of Swindon ...

and Mt. Vernon Square Historic District; and to the south by NoMa. Truxton Circle is named for the former

Thomas Truxtun Thomas Truxtun (or Truxton) (February 17, 1755 – May 5, 1822) was an American naval officer after the Revolutionary War, when he served as a privateer, who rose to the rank of commodore in the late eighteenth century and later served in the Quas ...

traffic circle A roundabout is a type of circular intersection (road), intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The N ...

, which was located at the intersection of North Capitol Street and Florida Avenue and which was demolished in 1947. It was part of the Shaw School Urban Renewal Area, later known as the

neighborhood.

History

A traffic circle was constructed at the intersection of

and

around 1900."Truxton Circle Hazard To End This Summer". ''Evening Star''. March 24, 1947. p. 5. The circle was named Truxton Circle, after US

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

. A fountain was moved from the intersection of

Pennsylvania Avenue Pennsylvania Avenue is a diagonal street in Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland, that connects the White House and the United States Capitol and then crosses the city to Maryland. In Maryland it is also Maryland Route 4 (MD 4 ...

and M Street NW to Truxton Circle in 1901. A police officer conducted traffic at the traffic circle until a

traffic light Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traffic. Traffic light ...

was installed there in 1925. Because the traffic circle was a site of traffic jams and accidents, it was demolished in 1947 at a cost of $500,000. The adjacent fountain was removed at the same time. The neighborhood of Truxton Circle contains late 19th-century houses and historical schools, including Armstrong Manual Training School (where

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was bas ...

graduated) and the original Dunbar High School, the first public high school for black students in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Along with Armstrong, the former

John Mercer Langston School John Mercer Langston School is a historic structure located in the Truxton Circle neighborhood in Washington, D.C. The two-story brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. P ...

, John Fox Slater Elementary School, and the Margaret Murray Washington School buildings are all listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. The neighborhood has several parks and playgrounds, such as Truxton Park, which lies at the corner of First Street and Florida Avenue, New York Avenue Playground at the corner of First Street and N Street, and Bundy Playground between O Street and P Street.

Political boundaries

A majority of Truxton Circle is defined as within Ward 5 of the city, with the southeast corner bounded by Kirby St and N St part of Ward 6. After the 2012 redistricting, the Ward 5 portions moved from ANC-5C to ANC-5E. The neighborhood is now served by two Single-Member Districts, 5E05 (south of Q St) and 5E06 (north of Q St and shared with Bloomingdale).

Civic association

Truxton Circle is home to two civic associations, the Bates Area Civic Association and the Hanover Civic Association.Zafar, Nina.
Truxton Circle: The Old and the New D.C. Mix in a Lively NW Enclave
" ''Washington Post'' (April 4, 2019).

Notes

External links

Truxton Circle Genealogy WebsiteBates Area Civic AssociationHanover Area Civic AssociationWhy Is It Named Truxton Circle? And, Where's the Circle?
Ghosts of DC website, 2013

{{Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. Squares, plazas, and circles in Washington, D.C. Neighborhoods in Northwest (Washington, D.C.)