Pennsylvania Avenue (Washington, D.C.)

The Pennsylvania Avenue is next to the mall, the most famous street in the U.S. capital, Washington, DC

Designed by the French architect Pierre L' Enfant street grid of the city is, as in most other North American cities also, from a regular rectangular grid. This is, however, superimposed in Washington by large diagonals. This diagonal axes are almost exclusively named after U.S. states.

The Pennsylvania Avenue extends over a length of approximately 11 kilometers, largely straight through the city. It starts in the northwest ( Georgetown) at the bridge over Rock Creek, runs through the Washington Circus to the White House, and from there to the Capitol, crossed by the John Philip Sousa Memorial Bridge the Anacostia River and located just a few kilometers, the city boundary to the state of Maryland.

The road is the direct connection between the two main government buildings in the United States, the White House (residence of the U.S. president ) and the Capitol ( seat of the two Houses of Parliament ), both of which are in the middle of the line of sight. Between these two symbols for the constitutional powers (executive and legislative ) are available along the road numerous other government buildings. Especially the section from the 6th to 15th Street, where the road is the northern boundary of the Federal Triangle is bordered by such.

The White House bears the number 1600's. Address 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is also used as a synonym for the White House, similar to the address Downing Street. 10, the seat of the British Prime Minister, the Quai d' Orsay as a synonym of the French Foreign Ministry or the Wilhelmstrasse for the German governments until 1945. The White House stands at the intersection of the axes of the Pennsylvania and New York Avenue.

The road was one of the first thoroughfares in the capital city. Many official parades and countless protest parades are held every year along this road.

After the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995, parts of the road were closed near the White House for the road, after the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, the closure was permanent.