Rhode Island Avenue
avenue in Washington, D.C.

Rhode Island Avenue is a diagonal avenue in the Northwest and Northeast quadrants of Washington, D.C., and the capital's inner suburbs in Prince George's County, Maryland. Paralleling New York Avenue, Rhode Island Avenue was one of the original streets in Pierre L'Enfant's plan for the capital. It became a major commuter route, carrying U.S. Route 1 traffic into the city from Prince George's County.
The western terminus of Rhode Island Avenue is in downtown Washington, at an intersection with Connecticut Avenue NW and M Street NW. The Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle is on Rhode Island Avenue NW, just east of that intersection. Just east of the cathedral, at Scott Circle, Rhode Island Avenue NW intersects Massachusetts Avenue NW and 16th Street NW. N Street NW stops short of meeting the circle from either direction, but is instead connected to Rhode Island and Massachusetts avenues NW through two short streets, Corregidor Street NW and Bataan Street NW. From Scott Circle, Rhode Island Avenue NW continues eastward to the Logan Circle neighborhood. At the traffic circle of the same name, Rhode Island Avenue NW intersects Vermont Avenue, 13th Street, and P Street NW.
East of Logan Circle, Rhode Island Avenue passes through primarily residential neighborhoods such as Bloomingdale, Shaw and Brentwood. Rhode Island Avenue is U.S. Route 29 between 7th and 11th streets NW, and U.S. Route 1 east of 6th Street NW. In Northeast Washington, Rhode Island Avenue NE is served by the Rhode Island Avenue–Brentwood station on the Red Line and the Shaw–Howard University station on the Green Line of the Washington Metro.
In 1926, Rhode Island Avenue NE was extended from the District line into Maryland, through Mount Rainier, Brentwood, and North Brentwood.
In downtown Hyattsville, Rhode Island Avenue merges into Baltimore Avenue (U.S. Route 1 Alternate).
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Rhode Island Avenue” as avenue in Washington, D.C. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as avenue in Washington, D.C. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2298360. Authority coordinates are 38.921, -76.998. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1926.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Rhode Island Avenue”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Rhode Island Avenue primary sources, Rhode Island Avenue archive and Rhode research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Rhode Island Avenue”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Rhode Island Avenue” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.