Dupont Circle, DC

Dupont Circle, DC

Dupont Circle’s picturesque streets exude European charm and display a treasure trove of architectural delights. It was developed during the Gilded Age as a home for Washington’s elite and moneyed class. Stately mansions built around the elegant circle and along Massachusetts Avenue were showpieces for many of the nation’s wealthiest industrialists, earning the stretch the nickname “Millionaires Row.” It became Embassy Row after the stock market crash emptied the mansions and foreign governments moved in. The neighborhood next became a center of the city’s bohemian and alternative scene, and it still knows how to let its hair down today with a mix of popular galleries, restaurants, bars, and clubs. Dupont Circle is one of the best neighborhoods in DC for those who want to learn more about the history of America especially as this neighborhood was historically a stronghold for social activism in the 1960s and 1970s including anti-war activism, LGBTQ activism, and the fight for equal rights for black Americans.

Dupont Circle has several commercial streets, from national chains and specialty shops along Connecticut Avenue to the restaurants and bars along P, 17th and 18th Streets. While buses and Metro are convenient, many residents choose to walk or bike downtown because of its close proximity. The neighborhood is extremely bike- and pedestrian-friendly, with several protected bike lanes on major thoroughfares.

From groceries to dry cleaners to local coffee houses, Dupont has all the conveniences of urban living. The neighborhood has a relaxed pace with a vitality and energy infused by its interesting residents,numerous tourists and visitors. Established galleries dot the neighborhood’s side streets and open their doors after hours for First Fridays each month. The circle itself serves as a community gathering place for everything from impromptu al fresco dining with friends to organized viewings of major sporting events like the World Cup.

Dupont Circle’s residents enjoy European living in the nation’s capital, from its intermixed retail and residential spaces to its pedestrian-friendly lifestyle. Many residents choose not to keep a car; with convenient transportation alternatives, who needs one?

Dupont’s older apartments tend to be quite spacious. Walk along Dupont’s diagonal avenues and you will find palatial stand-alone residences, but turn onto the numbered and lettered streets to discover three- and four-story row homes in the Queen Anne and Richardsonian Romanesque Revival style.

Strolling down Connecticut Avenue to do your food shopping at the Sunday farmers’ market. Or sit on the Spanish Steps with a book or a coffee, watching the world pass by.

The centerpiece of Dupont Circle and the entire neighborhood is the large fountain at the intersection of Mass. Ave/Connecticut Ave. On any given Spring-Fall Sunday, many Washingtonians enjoying the sun, arts, chess, and a variety of other activities. During the winter, when the city gets snowed in, you’ll find Dupont Circle community snowball fights! FUN!

More historic spots to check out in this DC neighborhood are The Heurich House Museum, a historic house occupied by immigrant and successful brewer Christian Heurich, the Larz Anderson House which houses a collection of 17th and 18th-century military and war archives founded by American Revolution officers in the late 1780s, The Phillips Collection which is the country’s first museum of modern art, and the Woodrow Wilson House to name a few.