Downtown, Washington, D.C.

**Downtown** is a neebourheid o Washington, D.C., as well as a colloquial name for the central business destrict in the northwast quadrant o the ceety. Geografically, the aurie extends roughly five tae sax blocks wast, northwast, north, northeast, an east o the White House. Several important museums, theaters, an a major sports venue are locatit in the aurie.  A portion o this aurie is kent as the **Downtown Historic District** an wis leetit on the NRHP in 2001.

## Location

The boondars o the Downtown destrict are irregular an difficult tae define. Historically, dountoun wis boondit bi Pennsylvania Avenue NW, New York Avenue NW, Massachusetts Avenue NW, an Indiana Avenue NW. This aurie includes the Penn Quarter, Mount Vernon Square, Chinatown, an Judiciary Square neebourheids. Wi the growthe o the ceety, "dountoun" is nou considered tae include Federal Triangle, the Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site, the K Street NW corridor wast tae Connecticut Avenue NW, an the Connecticut Avenue NW corridor belaw the Dupont Circle neebourheid.

Housomeivver, in 2004 *[[Frommer's]]* defined dountoun's boondars as 7t Street NW, Pennsylvania Avenue NW, 22nt Street NW, an P Street NW. This definition includes the neebourheids leetit abuin, as well as Foggy Bottom, West End, Logan Circle, an the lawer pairt o the Dupont Circle neebourheid. This mair expansive definition o dountoun is due tae extensive construction o major new office biggins aroond Farragut Square, wast alang K Street NW, an alang Connecticut Avenue NW. Similar construction in the aurie east o 7t Street tae Union Station (boondit on the north bi Massachusetts Avenue NW an tae the sooth bi Constitution Avenue NW) wis, bi the mid 2000s, beginnin tae push the boondar o "dountoun" eastwaird. Cassidy & Pinkard, a real estate commercial services company, defined dountoun in 2004 as extendin frae P Street NW sooth tae Constitution Avenue NW, an frae 15t Street NW east tae 4t Street NW. This is maistly concurrent wi the definition adoptit bi *Frommer's*.

## Character, attractions, an services
Bi the 1990s an continuin intae the 2010s, the core o the dountown destrict wis amaist exclusively commercial, an its primar commercial uise wis as office biggins. The aurie featurt a nummer o attractions an aw, includin museums (sic as the International Spy Museum, National Aquarium, National Archives, National Building Museum, National Museum of Women in the Arts, National Portrait Gallery, Newseum, and Smithsonian American Art Museum) an theaters (sic as Ford's Theatre, National Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre, Warner Theatre, an Woolly Mammoth Theatre). The Penn Quarter and Chinatown auries in pairticular are hame tae mony bars an restaurants, an the observation deck in the touer o the Old Post Office Pavilion is kent for its spectacular views o the ceety. 7t Street NW atween H an F Streets NW—a short commercial strip kent as "Gallery Place"—haes acome a major hub o bars, restaurants, theaters, an upscale retail shops.

Housomeivver, even as late as 2010, maist o the core aurie tendit tae be empty o pedestrian fuit traffeck at nicht, except for streets immediately aroond theaters an restaurants. Downtown D.C. haes been addin residents, housomeivver, an pedestrian traffec at nicht is increasin. In 1990, the aurie haed aboot 4,000 residents, but this haed increased tae 8,449 bi 2010. Sic increases appear smaw, but are mair significant than thay seem acause the ceety's hicht restrictions leemit population density. The completion o the $950 million CityCenterDC project in late 2013 is estimatit tae add anither 1,000 or mair residents. Ane exception tae the law nichttime fuit traffec is Gallery Place. Lairge crouds gather day an nicht at Gallery Place, especially efter sportin events at the Verizon Center. Crime an street brawls in the aurie skyrocketit in the aurie an its adjacent Gallery Place Metro station atween 2008 an 2010, primarily due tae the lairge groups o teenagers (frae throuoot the metropolitan region) gatherin thare.

Several notable restaurants exist in the dountoun destrict, includin Fogo de Chão, Kinkead's, Loeb's NY Deli, Old Ebbitt Grill, an Wok 'n' Roll (locatit in the Mary E. Surratt Boarding House). Chinatown an Gallery Place are notit for bein geografically smaw but haeing a vera lairge nummer o restaurants.

The Verizon Center (oreeginally namit the MCI Center), a major basketbaw, hockey, an events venue, opened in the Chinatown neebourheid on the eastren edge o the dountoun destrict in 1997. It pruivit tae be a major attraction, drawin mair nor 20 million visitors in its first decade o operation.

### Ceetyscape
The majority o downtown Washington is componit o office biggins o varyin airchitectural styles. The auldest tend tae be o the Federal schuil, as are the White House, the Treasury Building, Blair House, an the rowhooses that line Lafayette Square. Ithers run the gamut frae Neoclessical (sic as the biggins at Federal Triangle) tae Second Empire-style (the Eisenhower Executive Office Building) tae postmodren (One Farragut Square South and Franklin Touer at 1401 I Street NW).

#### Hicht restriction
Unlik ither lairge ceeties in the U.S., Washington's downtown haes a law skyline. Wi the advent o the skyscraper an the construction o the Cairo Hotel, residents wur concerned that the ceety's European feel micht be dwarfit bi heich-rise biggins. Congress tharefore passed the Heights of Buildings Act in 1899, limitin ony new biggin in Washington tae a hicht o . The act wis amendit in 1910 tae allou biggins  heicher than the width o the adjacent street.

, the tawest biggin in downtown Washington—excludin the Washington Monument, U.S. Capitol, Washington National Cathedral, an the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, aw o which are ootside o the downtown destrict—is the Old Post Office Pavilion, whose  taw clock touer looms far abuin ither nearbi structurs. The tawest commercial biggin is One Franklin Square, at .

### Pairks an public squares
A nummer o public urban pairks exist in the downtown aurie. Amang the mair prominent are: Farragut Square, Franklin Square, Judiciary Square, Lafayette Square (the portion o President's Park north o the White House), McPherson Square, Mount Vernon Square, Pershing Park, Scott Circle, Thomas Circle, an Washington Circle.

The lairgest pavit square in the ceety, Freedom Plaza, is locatit on Pennsylvania Avenue NW atween 13t an 14th Streets NW.

## Govrenance
Twa business improvement destricts kiver the downtown D.C. aurie.  The Downtown DC Business Improvement District (Downtown DC BID) is boondit bi 16t Street NW, Massachusetts Avenue NW, an Constitution Avenue NW, an is fundit bi a voluntar tax providit bi 825 businesses in the aurie. The Golden Triangle Business Improvement District (Golden Triangle BID) is boondit bi 16t Street NW, Massachusetts Avenue NW, 21st Street NW, an Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Baith BIDs wirk tae enhance the diversity o business in thair respective jurisdictions as well as the quality o life bi providin directions for tourists, impruivin street an sidewalk cleanliness, an advisin polis aboot potential or existin problems.

Various federal (Federal Protective Service, Federal Bureau o Investigation, Secret Service, United States Mint Police, United States Park Police, etc.), ceety (Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, District of Columbia Housing Authority Office of Public Safety), an regional (Metro Transit Police Department) law enforcement agencies hae concurrent, owerlappin jurisdiction in downtown D.C. Baith BIDs in the aurie provide semi-uniformit unsworn polis forces an aw, which help tae maintain order an provide street intelligence bi communicatin via cell phone wi the Metropolitan Police Department an Metro Transit Police. D.C. Housing Authority Police dae no hae jurisdiction ootside public hoosin, but dae patrol Gallery Place tae pick up an provide intelligence on the activities o youth congregatin thare who live in ceety-providit hoosin units.

## References

## Freemit airtins
* Downtown DC Business Improvement District
* Golden Triangle Business Improvement District