Metro is exceptionally convenient in Dupont Circle-the Dupont Circle stop on the Red Line is right under the circle itself. The neighborhood is now a very popular place to live for young people without cars and without children, as well as by the wealthy elite who can afford some of the highest home prices in the city.įor more information on riding the Metrorail in Washington DC, see Washington DC#Get_around.
In the 1980s and 1990s several clubs, bars, and shops opened in the area, furthering the gentrification process. While the neighborhood suffered considerably during the 1968 riots, it recovered faster than the adjacent neighborhoods of Shaw and the East End due in part to the Bohemian feel brought by the gay community, similar to the development of Greenwich Village in New York City. Along with the streetcar tunnel, another tunnel was constructed to allow Connecticut Ave vehicle traffic to pass beneath, helping to alleviate traffic congestion around the circle. Streetcar service ended in 1962, and several ideas have been proposed for what to do with the underground space, which is currently unused. In the late 1940s, a tunnel was built beneath Dupont Circle as part of a Capital Transit streetcar project. In the early 1900s, the area became a popular place for wealthy Washingtonians to build their mansions, most notably on Massachusetts Ave.
It is now a popular gathering spot, with many places to sit. The fountain was designed by Daniel Chester French and Henry Bacon, also the designers of the Lincoln Memorial, and features creatures that symbolize sea, the stars and the wind. The statue was replaced in 1921 with the large marble fountain that remains to this day. In 1884, the circle was renamed after Civil War Rear Admiral Samuel Francis DuPont, partial heir to the DuPont family fortune, and a bronze statue of him was added. Construction of the traffic circle, originally called Pacific Circle, began in 1871. The Dupont Circle area remained largely undeveloped until after the Civil War, when demand for housing from returning soldiers and freed slaves spurred additional development in D.C. One such circle, Dupont Circle, lies at the intersection of Connecticut Ave, which emanates from the White House and runs roughly north-south, New Hampshire Ave, which runs diagonally, and Massachusetts Ave which runs roughly east-west. included a number of grand boulevards, radiating out and intersecting with one another in a way that would create public squares and green space. Pierre Charles L'Enfant's original plan for Washington, D.C. It is also considered, along with Logan Circle (the next neighborhood to the east), to be the heart of DC's gay culture (17th street in this area is essentially all gay bars). It is popular due to its night clubs, bars, cafes, art galleries, and shops. Dupont Circle is a trendy historic neighborhood in Washington D.C.