To international visitors, Washington's wide, tree-lined avenues are reminiscent of European cities. The District of Columbia forms a diamond shape, with points facing directly north, south, east, and west. The quadrant indications are essential when addressing correspondence to Washington, D.C., addresses, since some street names reappear in different quadrants. Streets running north to south from the Capitol are numbered. The numbers increase moving away from the Capitol.
Streets running east to west are alphabetical.
The majority of avenues that traverse the city diagonally are named after states. You can take a quick virtual tour of Washington via this link to a sightseeing map . Return to Table of Contents City Resources and Internships Catholic University students have access to some of the world's finest research facilities. In addition to the Library of Congress and the U.S. government, Washington is home to the Smithsonian Institution and is a center for the arts and political action. CUA is minutes from Capitol Hill.