Our Grand Avenue

The Historic Avenue

1913 view along a sidewalk in the 2000 block of Mass Ave, west of DuPont Circle.

The double rows of American lindens were planted along Mass Ave in the 1870s and 1880s, to make the post-Civil War city be a great capital, like Berlin. The rows reportedly stretched for five miles along Mass Ave from Florida Ave Northwest to the Anacostia River edge in southeast.

The avenue was extended for two miles westward in the 1890s, and Sheridan Circle was  created for another noble prospect. In 1904, 500 more lindens were planted  in the new route. Some of these trees still stand!

Photo: Washingtonia Collection, DC Public Library

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Did you know that the Embassy Row part of Mass Ave is one of the last intact “Grand Avenue” landscapes in the nation? Help us rescue what remains of this landscape and revive the elegant, park-like views of a century ago. We add trees other plantings and city-provided soils and pervious spaces to grow better canopy and make the busy avenue resilient in the 21st century.

Historic Preservation

“The rhythm and proportions of this broad, tree-lined avenue dynamically interact with the scale and visual excitement of the architecture which abuts it. Creating a street façade unique in the city and perhaps the nation.”

–National Park Service historic status nomination 1974

Cover and sample page from A Grand Avenue Revival booklet Our Prizewinning Guide

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Order your free print copy of A Grand Avenue Revival: Massachusetts Avenue Landscape History and Design  here.