Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C. in the context of "16th Street (Washington, D.C.)"

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👉 Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C. in the context of 16th Street (Washington, D.C.)

16th Street Northwest, briefly known as the Avenue of the Presidents, is a prominent north-south boulevard in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. The street was laid out as part of the 1791 L'Enfant Plan, which served as the original blueprint for the city. The street begins just north of the White House, across from Lafayette Square in the President's Park, and continues north along the Washington meridian until Blair Circle.

The street passes through several notable landmarks and thoroughfares, including K Street, Scott Circle, Meridian Hill Park, Rock Creek Park before crossing Eastern Avenue into Silver Spring, Maryland, where it ends at Georgia Avenue. From K Street to the District line, it is part of the National Highway System, while the Maryland portion is designated Maryland Route 390. The entire street is 6.4 miles (10.3 km) long. Part of the street is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Sixteenth Street Historic District. From June 2020 to March 2025, the section immediately north of the White House was known officially as Black Lives Matter Plaza, featuring a large-scale mural of the wordmark on the street.

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Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C. in the context of Silent Sentinels

The Silent Sentinels, also known as the Sentinels of Liberty, were an American group of over 2,000 women in favor of women's suffrage organized by Alice Paul and the National Woman's Party, who nonviolently protested in front of the White House during Woodrow Wilson's presidency starting on January 10, 1917. Nearly 500 were arrested, and 168 served jail time. They were the first group to picket the White House. Later, they also protested in Lafayette Square, not stopping until June 4, 1919 when the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed both by the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The Sentinels started their protest after a meeting with the president on January 9, 1917, during which he told the women to "concert public opinion on behalf of women's suffrage." The protesters served as a constant reminder to Wilson of his lack of support for suffrage. At first the picketers were tolerated, but they were later arrested on charges of obstructing traffic.

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