Quadrants of Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., is administratively divided into four geographical quadrants of unequal size, each delineated by their ordinal directions from the medallion located in the Crypt under the Rotunda of the Capitol. Street and number addressing, centered on the Capitol, radiates out into each of the quadrants, producing a number of intersections of identically named cross-streets in each quadrant. Originally, the District of Columbia was a near-perfect square. However, even then the Capitol was never located at the geographic center of the territory (the geographic center was located near the present-day intersection of 17th Street, NW and Constitution Ave.). As a result, the quadrants are of greatly varying size. Northwest is quite large, encompassing over a third of the city's geographical area, while Southwest is little more than a neighborhood and military base.

The boundaries of the quadrants are not straight lines radiating from the medallion, but follow the paths of the boundary streets (which in some cases curve around topographical features): North Capitol Street, South Capitol Street, and East Capitol Street. The National Mall spans the entire boundary west of the medallion.

"Northwest" (also written as NW or N.W.) is located north of the National Mall and west of North Capitol Street. It is the largest of the four quadrants of the city, containing more than 42% of the entire city, and it includes the central business district, the Federal Triangle, The Smithsonian National Zoo, and the museums along the northern side of the National Mall, as well as such prestigious neighborhoods as Foggy Bottom, West End, Columbia Heights, Petworth, Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, LeDroit Park, Georgetown, Adams Morgan, Embassy Row, Glover Park, Tenleytown, Petworth, Piney Branch, Emergy, Shepherd Park, Crestwood, Bloomingdale, and Friendship Heights. The very large Rock Creek Park divides the northwest quadrant in two.

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