Misplaced Pages

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43-476: Connecticut Avenue was first extended north from Rock Creek around 1890 as part of an audacious plan to create a streetcar suburb in present-day Chevy Chase, Maryland , several miles distant from Washington, D.C. The area northwest of today's Calvert Street NW was largely farmland when Francis Newlands , a sitting Congressman from Nevada, quietly acquired more than 1,700 acres in Northwest D.C. and Maryland along

86-510: A fairly steep gradient, with rapid changes in elevation. The man-made Lake Needwood is located on the creek, north of Rockville. The conditions of Rock Creek are monitored by the United States Geological Survey . In Maryland, most of the northern Rock Creek watershed has good to excellent water quality , according to studies conducted by the county government. In 2004, to preserve water quality in partially developed areas,

129-598: A fictional version is depicted, as Glass claims to have attended a conference of Young Republicans held there. The hotel's owners accepted Henry L. Doherty as a minority financial partner. Doherty and his family moved into an apartment (now Suite 870) in the hotel, along with their maid, Juliette Brown. A few months after the Dohertys moved into the apartment, their maid died in the night. Dohertys' daughter Helen lived to be over 50 years old and died in Denmark. She did not die in

172-532: A five-mile stretch from today's Woodley Park neighborhood in D.C. to Jones Bridge Road in Maryland's Montgomery County . Meanwhile, he acquired control of the nascent Rock Creek Railway , which had a charter to build a streetcar line in the District. Beginning in 1888, Newlands and his partners graded a roadway, laid streetcar track down its center, and erected a bridge over a Rock Creek tributary. The road proceeded in

215-691: A local street, continues past Georgia Avenue and ends at Leisure World Boulevard. For more than six decades, Connecticut Avenue was host to various streetcar lines. The first was the Connecticut Avenue and Park Railway (soon absorbed by the Metropolitan Railroad ), which opened in April 1873 and ran from the White House to Boundary Avenue . In 1890, the Rock Creek Railway began operating from

258-475: A party attended by 5000 people. The enormously popular singer Rudy Vallée was booked to play the grand opening, but he had to fly down after a scheduled evening show at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater . Vallée's small plane encountered a storm after leaving Newark Airport , and was forced to touch down at Camden Central Airport . Vallée gave an impromptu concert there, as he and his band waited for

301-559: A small lake near its source. After exiting the golf course, Rock Creek flows between residential developments until it meets Agricultural History Farm Park, where the Upper Rock Creek Trail starts. It flows underneath the Intercounty Connector , which crosses it on a large arch bridge visible from the trail. It then flows into Lake Needwood at Rock Creek Regional Park in Maryland's Derwood – Rockville area. South of

344-519: A straight, 3.3-mile line north-northwest from today's Calvert Street to today's Chevy Chase Circle , then another 1.85 miles due north to Coquelin Run , yet another Rock Creek tributary near today's Chevy Chase Lake Drive. The streetcars began operating along the line's full length in 1892, connecting to their terminus at 18th and U Streets NW via the railway's iron trestle across the Rock Creek gorge. In 1907,

387-513: A terminus on Boundary Avenue two blocks east of Connecticut Avenue; its streetcars ran across the Rock Creek gorge on an iron bridge near today's Duke Ellington Bridge , then turned north onto Connecticut near today's Calvert Street intersection. The line continued down the middle of Connecticut Avenue to Chevy Chase Circle, then ran on to its terminus at Chevy Chase Lake, an amusement park just south of today's Jones Bridge Road. A third streetcar line,

430-702: Is a tributary of the Potomac River , in the United States, that empties into the Atlantic Ocean via the Chesapeake Bay . The 32.6-mile (52.5 km) creek drains about 76.5 square miles (198 km ). Its final quarter-mile (400 m) is affected by tides . The creek rises from a culvert under Dorsey Road at the north edge of Laytonsville Golf Course in Montgomery County , Maryland . A dam forms

473-594: Is an arterial route in the National Highway System between K Street and Nebraska Avenue. Connecticut Avenue leaves the District of Columbia at Chevy Chase Circle, at the intersection of Connecticut and Western Avenues . Upon entering Maryland, it gains the route designation Maryland State Highway 185 and runs through the Chevy Chase, Maryland , postal area. This stretch is lined by the Chevy Chase Club,

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516-545: Is fed by several small creeks ( Piney Branch , Pinehurst Branch, Broad Branch, Soapstone Branch, and Luzon Branch) and numerous storm sewers . The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal joins Rock Creek in Georgetown ; the creek's mouth is the canal's eastern terminus. Just below this confluence, the Canal Company in 1831 completed a mole , causeway, and waste weir . This area, which the company dubbed "Rock Creek Basin", silted up and

559-590: Is located one block west of the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and Calvert Street. The hotel is known for having been a regular venue for Mark Russell and the Capitol Steps . It is a member of Historic Hotels of America , the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation . The first Shoreham Hotel was constructed in 1887 by Vice President of the United States Levi P. Morton . It

602-574: The Chevy Chase Lake & Kensington Railway (later, the Kensington Railway Company) began operations in 1895, running north from Chevy Chase Lake on Connecticut Avenue for a half mile before diverging to the right and heading on to Kensington, Maryland . Streetcar operations on Connecticut north of Rock Creek ended in 1935; their service was replaced by buses . "It was the most significant District streetcar abandonment up to that time",

645-454: The Dupont Circle neighborhood, it splits at N Street into a through roadway and service roadways . The through roadway tunnels under Dupont Circle, while the service roadways intersect the outer roadway of the circle. The through roadway and service roadways rejoin at R Street. Originally, there was no tunnel, and all vehicular traffic on Connecticut Avenue went through the circle. The tunnel

688-499: The National Park Service finished a project to remove or bypass eight fish barriers in the creek by adding a fish ladder to bypass the 1905 Peirce Mill Dam, modifying historic fords , and removing abandoned sewage lines and fords. The effort was designed to restore American shad , river herring , and other migratory fish to the creek and their historic upriver spawning grounds. An estimated two million fish migrate up

731-533: The Omni Shoreham Hotel in 1985. The Shoreham was featured in the 1987 film No Way Out , when the character played by Kevin Costner , Commander Tom Farrell, first meets the character Susan Atwell played by Sean Young at an presidential inaugural ball . In the 2003 film Shattered Glass about the journalism scandal at The New Republic perpetrated by Stephen Glass , the hotel is mentioned by name and

774-525: The Shoreham Americana Hotel . In 1980, Dunfey Hotels, the hospitality division of Aer Lingus , purchased the hotel in partnership with New York developer William Zeckendorf Jr. Dunfey assumed management in January 1980 and renamed the hotel The Shoreham, a Dunfey Hotel . In 1983, Dunfey Hotels acquired Omni International Hotels, forming a new chain, Omni Hotels & Resorts . The hotel was renamed

817-732: The Taft Bridge across Rock Creek connected the southern and northern segments of Connecticut Avenue. In 1932, the Newlands bridge over the tributary was replaced by the current Klingle Valley Bridge . Connecticut Avenue begins just north of the White House at Lafayette Square . It is interrupted by Farragut Square . North of Farragut Square and K Street , Connecticut Avenue is one of the major streets in downtown Washington , with high-end restaurants, historical buildings such as Sedgwick Gardens , hotels, and shopping. As Connecticut Avenue approaches

860-586: The Washington Post would write. The Red Line of the Washington Metro subway system runs beneath Connecticut Avenue. Metro stations along or near Connecticut Avenue include: The following Metrobus routes travel along the street (listed from south to north): The following Ride On routes travel along the street (listed from south to north): The following MARC Train stop lies on the street: Rock Creek (Potomac River tributary) Rock Creek

903-542: The William Howard Taft Bridge and goes through upper Northwest Washington, D.C., including the Woodley Park , Cleveland Park , Forest Hills, and Chevy Chase, D.C. neighborhoods. Between Woodley Park and Cleveland Park, Connecticut Avenue is carried over a deep valley on another bridge . Numerous older, Art Deco high-rise apartment buildings line the 3000 block, with slightly newer apartment buildings in

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946-566: The 4000 and 5000 blocks. The National Zoological Park sits halfway between the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan and Cleveland Park Metro stations. A bit further north is the strikingly futuristic former headquarters of Intelsat ; a bit further south are the Omni Shoreham Hotel and the landmark Wardman Park Hotel building, once the city's largest hotel. This section is also a major commuter route; until 2020, it had reversible lanes along most of its length that operated during

989-991: The Lake Needwood Dam, Rock Creek flows in a deep gorge and is paralleled by the main Rock Creek Trail, and is joined by the North Branch Rock Creek. It exits the gorge near the Twinbrook neighborhood of Rockville and the Parklawn Memorial Cemetery . At North Kensington , Beach Drive begins to parallel the creek. The creek eventually crosses the Capital Beltway and later reaches the Washington, D.C. , border. The creek flows for about 9 miles (14 km) through Rock Creek Park in Washington, where it

1032-735: The Shoreham Hotel, during the period the government-in-exile of the Commonwealth of the Philippines was established in Washington, D.C. from May 1942 until his death in August 1944. The third-floor suite (the Franklin D. Roosevelt suite) he and his family stayed in was fully enclosed, and the glassed-in balcony can still be seen to this day. During that time, the Philippine and American flags flew outside

1075-542: The Shoreham when he arrived in Washington to discover that the U.S. Navy had made last minute changes in their request for a replacement for the SBD Dauntless dive bomber. The Shoreham was largely a residential hotel until 1950, when it began converting to house transient guests. Over the years, the Shoreham has been the Washington home of many prominent politicians, including Senator Stuart Symington from Missouri. During

1118-499: The addition of Cass Elliot , they would go on to be known as The Mamas & the Papas . The Conservative Political Action Conference took place at the Omni from 2006 through 2009. In 1973, the hotel was sold to Chicago real estate investor Lester Meilman's MAT Associates. They retained Americana Hotels, the hospitality division of American Airlines , to manage the hotel, which was renamed

1161-458: The closed and empty Suite 870. Other occupants say furniture would be found out of place, and hotel staff said their housekeeping carts would move on their own. The Omni Shoreham Hotel has named the room the "Ghost Suite". Todd Scartozzi, an Omni Hotels manager, stayed in the Ghost Suite with his family and observed a walk-in closet light turning off and on of its own accord. The AAA gave

1204-510: The combined sewer with separate storm sewers, and so eliminate CSO-related problems in the creek. As of 2021, the bacteria levels in the creek remained dangerously high due to the leaking sewer pipes, even during dry weather, and the public has been warned not to wade into the creek. Fish species observed in Rock Creek and its tributaries include eastern blacknose dace , bluntnose minnow , yellow bullhead , satinfin shiner , swallowtail shiner , longnose dace , and American eel . In 2006,

1247-632: The county imposed restrictions on development (i.e., designation of "Special Protection Areas") in parts of this sub-watershed. The southern portion of the Maryland watershed is highly urbanized . Most of this portion of the creek and its tributaries have poor water quality. As of 2018, the county has completed several stream restoration projects throughout the watershed, and has additional projects planned or under construction. The D.C. segment of Rock Creek also has poor water quality. In addition to typical urban stormwater pollution problems such as runoff from streets and other impervious surfaces ,

1290-643: The creek each year. The D.C. government completed a restoration project on the Milkhouse Run and Bingham Run tributaries in 2013. As of 2014, ongoing restoration projects in the watershed include the Broad Branch and Klingle Run tributaries. (Listed in order from the mouth upstream) Omni Shoreham Hotel The Omni Shoreham Hotel is a historic resort and convention hotel in Northwest Washington, D.C. , built in 1930 and owned by Omni Hotels . It

1333-555: The creek has high bacteria levels due to leaking sewer pipes and combined sewer overflows (CSOs). The D.C. government, which has a stormwater discharge permit from the United States Environmental Protection Agency , is improving its stormwater management to raise water quality in Rock Creek. In 2009, the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority began a planned two-year effort to replace portions of

Connecticut Avenue - Misplaced Pages Continue

1376-593: The former National 4-H Youth Conference Center, and Columbia Country Club . After interchanging with the Capital Beltway at Exit 33, Connecticut Avenue enters Kensington , where it is the major north-south street of the central business district. Connecticut Avenue long ended at University Boulevard ( Maryland State Highway 193 ). Then Concord Avenue was extended northward to form an extension of Connecticut Avenue that passes through Wheaton and Aspen Hill . The state route designation ends at Georgia Avenue ( Maryland State Highway 97 ). Connecticut Avenue, now simply

1419-474: The hotel four diamonds out of five in 2001. The hotel has maintained that rating every year, and received four diamonds again for 2016. Forbes Travel Guide (formerly known as Mobil Guide) declined to give the hotel either four or five stars in 2016, and did not put it on its list of "recommended" hotels. In March 2017, Cvent , an event management company, ranked the Omni Shoreham 79th in its annual list of

1462-559: The hotel. Dr. Chris Lambertsen demonstrated his Lambertsen Amphibious Respiratory Unit (LARU) MK II, an oxygen rebreather , to individuals who were in the process of forming a maritime unit for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in November 1942 at the Shoreham Hotel. In 1944, Ed Heinemann of Douglas Aircraft designed the AD-1 Skyraider on the back of an envelope overnight at

1505-729: The late 1940s and early 1950s when he was first Secretary of the Air Force , Symington was known to host President Harry S. Truman for all-night poker games. On February 10, 1964, the Beatles booked the entire 7th floor of the hotel for one evening while they were in Washington to give a concert at the Washington Coliseum during their first American tour. Later that year in December, Denny Doherty performed his first show with John Phillips and Michelle Phillips , as The New Journeymen . With

1548-514: The morning and evening rush hours (7–9:30 a.m. and 4–6:30 p.m.). It connects with the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway via 24th Street. Mid-century-era high-rise apartments line the avenue, with elegant, older detached homes on shady side streets. The road passes the main campus of the University of the District of Columbia near the Van Ness metrorail station. Connecticut Avenue

1591-403: The suite. The Dohertys moved out, and the apartment remained unoccupied for almost 50 years. The apartment was renovated into a hotel suite. But guests and hotel staff began to tell stories of faint voices, cold breezes, doors slamming shut and opening of their own accord, and televisions and lights turning on and off on their own. Guests in adjoining suites would complain of noises coming from

1634-402: The weather to clear. They finally reached Washington's Bolling Field at 3:15am and made their way to the Shoreham. They performed for the 1000 remaining guests from 4:15 to 4:30am, before leaving for Washington Union Station , to take a train back to New York for an 8am rehearsal. On 4 March 1933, the first inaugural ball of President Franklin D. Roosevelt was held at the hotel. The hotel

1677-618: Was built in 1949 to serve vehicles and a Capital Transit streetcar line that operated until 1962. After crossing Florida Avenue near the Hilton Washington hotel, Connecticut Avenue narrows and winds between the Kalorama neighborhoods. (The Kalorama Triangle Historic District extends eastward from Connecticut, while the Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District lies to the west.) The avenue then crosses Rock Creek Park on

1720-577: Was designed by the New York firm of Hubert, Pirrson & Company and was located at 15th and H Streets NW. Morton named the hotel for his birthplace, Shoreham, Vermont . The hotel was expanded in 1890 and extensively renovated in 1902 and 1913. The Shoreham went bankrupt in 1927 and was sold to developer Harry Wardman , who demolished the hotel in 1929 and replaced it with the Shoreham Office Building, designed by Mihran Mesrobian . That structure

1763-910: Was dredged several times for the Canal's use. The creek (and the canal) empty into the Potomac River at the Tidewater Lock near the Watergate complex . The Maryland portion of the watershed comprises the second-largest watershed in Montgomery County, about 60 sq mi (160 km ). About 21 percent of the creek's watershed is in Washington. Total land usage in the watershed is 896 acres (3.63 km ) of wetlands or water, 22,272 acres (90.13 km ) of residential and commercial areas, 15,488 acres (62.68 km ) of forest or grasslands, and 10,304 acres (41.70 km ) of agricultural areas. The creek has

Connecticut Avenue - Misplaced Pages Continue

1806-517: Was itself converted to a hotel in 2002, becoming the Sofitel Washington DC Lafayette Square. The modern Shoreham Hotel was constructed by developer Harry M. Bralove as a resort hotel, situated in the leafy Woodley Park neighborhood, well outside the heart of the city. The hotel was designed by Washington architect Joseph H. Abel . Construction began in 1929 and the hotel celebrated its grand opening on October 30, 1930, with

1849-420: Was outfitted with a special ramp and elevator to accommodate the needs of the new president, who used a wheelchair due to his physical disability. Subsequently, the Shoreham hosted inaugural balls for every president of the 20th Century. President Bill Clinton played the saxophone at his inaugural ball held at the hotel on 21 January 1993. Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon had his official residence in

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