Understanding Washington, DC's Quadrants
There's a simple fact about the way streets are layed out and named in Washington, DC that can create not-so-simple problems for the unaware. DC is divided into four quadrants:
- Northwest (NW)
- Northeast (NE)
- Southwest (SW)
- Southeast (SE)
The center point for this division, as shown on the map below, is the US Capitol. The Capitol also acts as the hub for the letter and number streets that form DC's grid. The alphabet counts up (A, B, C... though not all letters are represented) both north and south of the Capitol. And, the numbered streets count up going both east and west.
Who cares, you ask? You might, because it means that for any given intersection you might name, there could actually be FOUR of them! Take the intersection of 2nd & C Street, for example. Copies of this intersection exists in all 4 quadrants. This means that without one of those directional suffixes attached (NW, SW, NE, SE), that address is meaningless.
True story: We recently encountered a family trying to meet their Congressman at the corner of "2nd & C St." After some digging, we found that the intended location was in the SE quadrant (2nd & C St SE). Unfortunately, they were wandering in vain at the crossroads of 2nd & C St NW! Two simple letters that meant they were more than 45 minutes late for their meeting.
So, when in DC, pay attention to the details of any address you're trying to find, and be sure you're headed to the correct quadrant.
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