Sheridan Circle | |
 Sheridan Circle including thestatue of Philip Sheridan | |
| Location | Intersection ofMassachusetts Avenue, R Street, and 23rd Street NWWashington, D.C., United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38°54′43.8″N77°03′02.4″W / 38.912167°N 77.050667°W /38.912167; -77.050667 |
| Part of | Massachusetts Avenue Historic District Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District |
| NRHP reference No. | 74002166 (Massachusetts Avenue Historic District) 89001743 (Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District) |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 22, 1974 (Massachusetts Avenue Historic District) October 30, 1989 (Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District) |
| Designated DCIHS | November 27, 1973 (Massachusetts Avenue Historic District) August 16, 1989 (Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District) |
Sheridan Circle is atraffic circle and park in theSheridan-Kalorama neighborhood ofWashington, D.C. The traffic circle, one of two in the neighborhood, is the intersection of 23rd Street NW,Massachusetts Avenue NW, and R Street NW. The buildings along this stretch of Massachusetts Avenue NW are part ofEmbassy Row, which runs fromScott Circle toObservatory Circle. Sheridan Circle is acontributing property to theMassachusetts Avenue Historic District and the Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District, both listed on theNational Register of Historic Places (NRHP). In addition, theequestrian statue of GeneralPhilip Sheridan is 1 of 18Civil War Monuments in Washington, D.C., that were collectively listed on the NRHP.
The area around Sheridan Circle did not develop until the 1880s-1890s. Local officials extended Massachusetts Avenue NW past what was then the city's boundary, nowFlorida Avenue, in hopes of recreating the residential success ofDupont Circle. The Sheridan-Kalorama area was previously home to large estates and country homes. These lands were eventually sold and the traffic circle's name was changed from Decatur Circle, in honor of CommodoreStephen Decatur, to Sheridan Circle, in honor ofCivil War GeneralPhilip Sheridan. It took many years for the equestrian statue of Sheridan to be created, and the dedication of the memorial took place in 1908. By that time, houses were being built around the circle, including the first one, theAlice Pike Barney Studio House.
The remaining homes around the circle were elaborate mansions, designed by some of the top local and national architects. During theGreat Depression, some of the residences were sold to foreign countries. This occurred again afterWorld War II and into the 1950s. Some of the embassies and ambassadorial residences facing Sheridan Circle include Romania, Ireland, Greece, Vietnam, Kenya, Egypt, South Korea, Latvia, and Turkey.
Two violent moments that occurred at Sheridan Circle were theassassination of Orlando Letelier andRonni Karpen Moffitt by Chile'sDirección de Inteligencia Nacional. Those that took part in thecar bomb attack wereCuban expatriates who supported Chilean dictatorAugusto Pinochet. There is a small monument by the circle in honor of the two victims. The other violent moment took place in 2017 whenclashes broke out between theKurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) supporters and Kurdish separatists who were protesting Turkish PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan. The protesters and reporters were beaten by Erdoğan's security detail. The victims later opened a civil case against the Turkish government.
Sheridan Circle, the city's Reservation 57A, is the intersection of 23rd Street NW,Massachusetts Avenue NW, and R Street NW, in theSheridan-Kalorama neighborhood ofWashington, D.C.[1] It is one of two traffic circles in the neighborhood, the other being Kalorama Circle.[2] The circle and its surrounding buildings arecontributing properties to twohistoric districts. The first one,Massachusetts Avenue Historic District, was added to theDistrict of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites (DCIHS) on November 27, 1973, and listed on theNational Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on October 22, 1974. The second is theSheridan-Kalorama Historic District, added to the DCIHS on August 16, 1989, and listed on the NRHP on October 30, 1989.[3]
The area that now encompasses Sheridan Circle, and much of the present-day Sheridan-Kalorama neighborhood, were originally large estates built outside the city's boundary. Local government officials announced in 1886 that development would be expanded beyond Boundary Street (renamedFlorida Avenue in 1890). The plan was to extend Massachusetts Avenue NW northward pastRock Creek. Two traffic circles were also planned in the extension and most of the surrounding area was to be plotted and have streets laid out within a year.[2]
The land that was previously the Lovett estate and the Barlow-Bomford mausoleum is where present-day Sheridan Circle is located. The earliest developments in the Sheridan-Kalorama neighborhood took place near Decatur Circle, the original name of Sheridan Circle. It was named in honor ofUnited States Navy CommodoreStephen Decatur, but renamed in 1890, in honor ofCivil War GeneralPhilip Sheridan.[2][4]
Dupont Circle, a neighborhood to the east, became a fashionable residential area in the 1880s. Development past the Dupont Circle boundaries began that same decade, and by 1887, the lots along Massachusetts Avenue had been plotted. Soon, there were large residences being built along the avenue towards Decatur Circle. In the 1890s, the city's boundary was extended past Rock Creek, but city officials had to build a new bridge over the creek and pave Massachusetts Avenue before further development could occur.[2]
The stone bridge that carried people and goods over Rock Creek on Massachusetts Avenue was replaced with an iron bridge in 1901, which was also replaced in the 1940s and named theCharles C. Glover Memorial Bridge.[2][5] The large residences built along Massachusetts Avenue were designed by prominent architects from Washington, D.C., as well as ones from other major cities. Most of the residences built around Sheridan Circle were free-standing mansions, occupied by prominent members of society. The first house to be constructed that faced the circle was theAlice Pike Barney Studio House, an eclectic example ofSpanish Colonial Revival architecture, whichAlice Pike Barney used as an art studio and residence. Foreign governments also became interested in building stylish, large embassies around the circle.[2][6]
Astatue to honor General Sheridan was originally proposed to stand on the north side ofPennsylvania Avenue NW near 13th Street NW, at what is nowFreedom Plaza. Sheridan's widow advocated to erect the statue at Sheridan Circle instead, with which the statue commission agreed.John Quincy Adams Ward was selected to sculpt the statue. Mrs. Sheridan rejected his original model, saying it was not a good likeness of her husband, and the statue commission rejected Ward's model. The commission and Mrs. Sheridan both approved of a model created byGutzon Borglum, one that was modeled after Philip Sheridan Jr.[7][8] The statue and the surrounding park were dedicated on November 27, 1908, and is one of 18Civil War Monuments in Washington, D.C., listed on the NRHP on September 20, 1978, and the DCIHS on March 3, 1979.[3][9]
In the years followingWorld War I, there was an explosion in growth of new buildings in the area. Many prominent local and national architects designed palatial residences around Sheridan Circle. During theGreat Depression, many of the local residences were sold to foreign nations or various groups. AfterWorld War II ended, many of the area residences were renovated into embassies, ambassadorial residences, and attachés.[2]
Examples include the following: theEdward Hamlin Everett House, designed byGeorge Oakley Totten Jr., is the ambassadorial residence forTurkey; the mansion at 2234 Massachusetts Avenue NW, designed byWilliam Penn Cresson, is theIrish embassy; the mansion at 1607 23rd Street NW, designed byCarrère and Hastings, is theRomanian embassy; theJoseph Beale House, designed byGlenn Brown, is the ambassadorial residence forEgypt; 2221 Massachusetts Avenue NW, designed by Totten Jr., is theGreek embassy; theEmma S. Fitzhugh House, designed byWood, Donn & Deming, is the ambassadorial residence for thePhilippines; and 2249 R Street NW, designed byNathan C. Wyeth, is the ambassadorial residence forKenya.[2] Additional countries who own buildings on the circle includeSouth Korea (consular section) andVietnam. TheAmerican Society of International Law's headquarters is on the east side of the circle at 2223 Massachusetts Avenue NW.[2][4]
.jpg)
On September 21, 1976,Orlando Letelier andRonni Karpen Moffitt were killed by acar bomb in the circle. Letelier had beenforeign minister in the oustedAllende government ofChile. The bombing was blamed on ChileanDINA agents.Michael Townley, a DINA U.S. expatriate among those convicted for the crime, confessed that he had hired five anti-CastroCuban exiles to booby-trap Letelier's car. According to Jean-Guy Allard, after consultations with theCoordination of United Revolutionary Organizations leadership (includingLuis Posada Carriles andOrlando Bosch), those selected to carry out the murder wereCuban Americans José Dionisio Suárez,Virgilio Paz Romero, Alvin Ross Díaz, and brothers Guillermo and Ignacio Novo Sampoll.[10][11]
According to news reports,Luis Posada Carriles was at the meeting that decided on Letelier's death and also about theCubana bombing two weeks later.[10] Letelier and Moffitt are commemorated with a small plaque embedded in the grass along the curb where they died, near the Irish and Romanian embassies.[11] In 2023, Chilean PresidentGabriel Boric visited the memorial site where he placed flowers.[12]
On May 16, 2017, dozens ofKurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) supporters andKurdish separatists clashed with Turkish security officials at Sheridan Circle.[13] Turkish security personnel beat journalists and protesters during the skirmish.[13] Turkish PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan, visiting the ambassadorial residence on the circle, watched the clashes from a distance.[14] During a civil suit by some of the PKK supporters against the Turkish government, a U.S. judge denied Turkey's citing theForeign Sovereign Immunities Act as to why the case should be dismissed.[13]
.jpg)
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)