Existing comment:
DuPont Circle
DuPont Circle was once an area where the city's wealthiest citizens built grand mansions. Now days, these have been converted to offices and embassies and lawyers and lobbyists abound.
Originally, there was a creek (Slash Run) going through this area and the marshy wasteland was known as "The Slashes". This changed during the brief (1871-1874) reign of Boss Shepherd who, while head of the Board of Public Works and Territorial Governor of Washington, owned some land up here and gave this area a top priority in his plans to fix up the city. Land barons, known as the California Syndicate, grabbed up the area for 60 cents a foot and made a killing in the newly created Pacific Circle area.
Pacific Circle was renamed DuPont circle in 1882 in honor of Admiral Samuel duPont. DuPont had been the Union leader who sailed into Port Royal South Carolina with 12,000 men under Thomas Sherman and seized the forts which served as a base for future actions in this area. Later, duPont was defeated in Charleston, following orders he did not believe in, and asked to be relieved of duty. He was the newphew of Eleuthere Irenee Du Pont, the founder of the chemical company.
A statue to the admiral was placed here in 1884. In the 1920's, The DuPont family transplanted the statue to a park in their hometown of Wilmington, Deleware. It was then replaced by a marble fountain by Daniel Chester French, who was also working on his statue of Lincoln for the Lincoln Memorial.
By the 1960's, the area was blighted by vandalism but it started rebuilding itself in the 1970's and 1980's. These days, the area is still trendy and is known as a mecca for gays. |