14th Street NW/SW is a street in Northwest and Southwest quadrants of Washington, D.C., located west of the U.S. Capitol. It runs from the 14th Street Bridge north to Eastern Avenue. Northbound U.S. Route 1 runs along 14th Street from the bridge to Constitution Avenue, where it turns east with US 50. US 1 southbound previously used 15th Street NW due to the ban on left turns from westbound Constitution Avenue to 14th Street, but it now uses the Ninth Street Tunnel, five blocks to the east. 14th Street crosses the National Mall and runs near the White House and through the western side of Washington's Logan Circle neighborhood. Because it connects to one of the main bridges crossing the Potomac River into Virginia, 14th Street has always been a major transportation corridor. It was the location of one of the first streetcar lines, and today it is the location of several afternoon carpooling "slug lines", which allow commuters to meet the high-occupancy vehicle requirements of I-395, the Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway.
History
In the middle of the 20th century, 14th Street NW near the intersection of P Street was home to many car dealerships and was known as "auto row". The Casino Royal at 14th and H Streets was one of the city's most popular nightclubs. The street was the location of race riots in 1968 after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. In the 1980s, a portion of 14th Street became known primarily for its red-light district. Many strip clubs and massage parlors were concentrated roughly between New York Avenue and K Street, while prostitutes plied their trade around Logan Circle. However, rising land values eventually pushed out the adult businesses. The Source Theatre, founded by Bart Whiteman, was given some credit for the area's revival. Whiteman stood outside the theater to escort people inside in order to make them feel safer. The opening of a Whole Foods Market at 14th and P Streets in 2000 is also considered a major turning point for the neighborhood. With the gentrification of the neighborhoods through which it passes – particularly downtown, Logan Circle, the U Street Corridor, and Columbia Heights – 14th Street is now known for live theater, art galleries, and trendy restaurants. Moreover, while the nominal center of the city's gay life is still Dupont Circle, the Washington Blade called 14th Street between U Street and Massachusetts Avenue the best place to see and be seen. As of 2012, the center of gravity had shifted and Logan Circle was voted "DC's gay neighborhood." 14th Street, especially south of Florida Avenue, is rapidly gentrifying and now known as one of the preeminent dining destinations in the Greater Washington area. In a nine-month period alone between 2012 and 2013, 24 new restaurants opened on 14th Street. In a two-year span, almost every block of 14th between Rhode Island and Florida Avenues had a major residential redevelopment project scheduled, adding more than 1,200 housing units and of retail.
Fourteenth Street has been a major transit route ever since the Capital Traction Company streetcar line was built around the turn of the 20th century. The successor to that line is the Metrobus 14th Street Line—routes 52 & 54.
