The 16th Street NW corridor is one of the most important thoroughfares in the nation’s capital, stretching from Lafayette Square and the White House (at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW) to Silver Spring, Maryland. The S2 and S9 Metrobus routes traverse this path, which passes by embassies, monuments and memorials, prominent homes, and houses of worship for nearly every denomination — most notably, the "Church of the Presidents" (Saint John's) across from the White House. This tour covers the southern portion of 16th Street NW from Piney Branch in Columbia Heights to Downtown's Lafayette Square.

Mary Foote Henderson, wife of Missouri Senator John Henderson, sought to develop 16th Street around Meridian Hill Park (north of Florida Avenue) as the diplomatic and ceremonial heart of DC. Therefore, she commissioned architect George Oakley Totten, Jr., to design and build a series of impressive mansions and embassy buildings to achieve her vision. Some of these buildings continue to serve as embassies while others have been converted to new uses, such as apartments. The three church steeples at Columbia Road are another reminder of the neighborhood's elegant beginnings. The Meridian Hill Historic District represents this important history.

The Sixteenth Street Historic District, which encompasses a portion of this route from Florida Avenue and Meridian Hill on the north to Lafayette Square on the south, includes 119 significant buildings. Built between 1875 and 1920, these buildings and structures range from three-and four-story row houses to churches and apartment buildings. Constructed in 1894, the 164-foot tall Cairo apartment building — located on Q Street just west of 16th Street — prompted Congress to pass the Height of Buildings Act in 1910. This law has led to DC's unique and iconic low-rise character.

The historic district also includes a number of institutional buildings, such as the Carnegie Institution of Washington (now owned by the nation of Qatar), the Women’s Congressional Club, and the impressive Scottish Rite Temple. The collection of buildings that exist within the historic district reflect the unique history and architecture associated with the development of Sixteenth Street as an area separate from the Dupont Circle neighborhood to the west and the Shaw and Logan Circle neighborhoods to the east. Notably, in 2020, following protests in the wake of George Floyd's murder, Mayor Muriel Bowser renamed a section of 16th Street NW just north of Lafayette Square as Black Lives Matter Plaza.

This tour hopes to draw your attention to the historic and architecturally-significant gems along your daily commute or your trip from one historic site to the next. Start at the historic site that’s closest to you! If you're traveling south on the S2 and S9 Metrobus routes, click “Next” to follow along. If you’re traveling north, click “Previous.”