Chevy Chase Circle is a

traffic circle A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular 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 junct ...

(or roundabout) straddling the border of Chevy Chase, Washington, D.C., and

Chevy Chase, Maryland Chevy Chase () is the colloquial name of an area that includes a town, several incorporated villages, and an unincorporated census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland; and one adjoining neighborhood in northwest Washington, D ...

. It sits upon the convergence of Western Avenue, Grafton Street, Magnolia Parkway, Chevy Chase Parkway NW, and

Connecticut Avenue Connecticut Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., and suburban Montgomery County, Maryland. It is one of the diagonal avenues radiating from the White House, and the segment south of Florida Avenue wa ...

(signed as Maryland Route 185 in Maryland). The center of the circle is occupied by the Francis Griffith Newlands Memorial Fountain.

History

The circle was built around 1890 by the Chevy Chase Land Company as part of its construction of the northern extension of

from the Rock Creek gorge. The circle marks the lone bend in the road’s five-mile stretch between Rock Creek and its original terminus at Coquelin Run. The company had initially planned to grade the road in a straight line to

Rockville, Maryland Rockville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, and is part of the Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fourth ...

, but could not acquire the necessary land at the desired price, and so turned due north at the D.C.-Maryland border. A streetcar line—first named the

Rock Creek Railway The Rock Creek Railway, which operated independently from 1890 to 1895, was one of the first Streetcars in Washington, D.C., electric streetcar companies in Washington, D.C., and the first to extend into Streetcars in Washington, D.C. and Maryland, ...

, later the

Capital Traction Company The Capital Traction Company was the smaller of the two major street railway companies in Washington, D.C., in the early 20th century. It was formed in 1895 when the Rock Creek Railway acquired the Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company. The ...

—ran through the circle. It would operate until Sept. 15, 1935, when its service was replaced by buses. All Saints' Episcopal Church opened on Chevy Chase Circle on December 1, 1901.Opened a New Church: Pretty House of Worship at Chevy Chase Circle
. ''The Washington Post''. December 2, 1901. p. 12. It was built in the Gothic style of architecture on land donated by

The Chevy Chase Land Company The Chevy Chase Land Company is a real estate holding and development company based in suburban Washington, D.C. The company was founded in 1890 by Francis G. Newlands and William M. Stewart, who sought to develop all-white residential suburb ...

. Rev. Dr. Thomas S. Childs was its first pastor. Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church, also on Chevy Chase Circle, was built in 1911. Dedicate New Church: Hundreds Attend Services at Chevy Chase Edifice
. ''The Washington Post''. January 9, 1911. p. 5. Rev. Dr. Hubert Rex Johnson was its first pastor. The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament Church was canonically established in 1911. A simple, temporary church was built at that time, with construction of the present church beginning in 1925.Three Brothers Officiate At Cornerstone Laying
. ''The Baltimore Sun''. November 2, 1925. p. 3. The cornerstone was blessed by

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Thomas J. Shahan, rector of the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

. The new Church opened on November 6, 1927.Prelate Dedicates Sacrament Shrine with Solemn Pomp: Archbishop Curley Presides at Services in New Chevy Chase Church
. ''The Washington Post''. November 7, 1927. p. 18.

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Michael Joseph Curley Michael Joseph Curley (October 12, 1879 – May 16, 1947) was an Irish-born American Catholic prelate who served as the first Archbishop of Washington from 1939 to 1947. He previously served as Archbishop of Baltimore (1921–1947) and as ...

officiated at the dedicatory service. In 1933, the Garden Club of American installed stone entrance markers on the east and west sides of a grassy ring within the Circle's interior, marking Connecticut Avenue's entry into the District of Columbia. In 1938, Francis Griffith Newlands Memorial Fountain, a 60-foot

water feature In landscape architecture and garden design, a water feature is one or more items from a range of fountains, jeux d'eau, pools, ponds, rills, artificial waterfalls, and streams. Before the 18th century they were usually powered by gravity ...

of sandstone and concrete, was erected in the center of the Circle, commemorating Representative and Senator Francis Newlands of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

References

External links

Chevy Chase Circle in its youth

Three Things That Happened at Chevy Chase Circle
{{coord, 38, 58, 3.40, N, 77, 4, 37.74, W, region:US-MD_type:landmark, display=title Chevy Chase, Maryland Chevy Chase (Washington, D.C.) Roads in Montgomery County, Maryland Squares, plazas, and circles in Washington, D.C.