Mamie “Peanut” Johnson Plaza
The well-known intersection of Florida Avenue NE and New York Avenue NE has been transformed to make it safer for pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers, and improved to include an inviting trio of thoughtfully landscaped urban spaces for the community to enjoy.
About
The well-known intersection of Florida Avenue NE and New York Avenue NE, also known as the “Virtual Circle” or “Dave Thomas Circle,” has been improved and transformed with the addition of three new, thoughtfully landscaped, inviting urban public spaces for the community to enjoy.
The new space was renamed Mamie “Peanut” Johnson Plaza to honor a trailblazing athlete who was the first woman to pitch in the Negro League and a longtime resident of Northeast DC. Like other NoMa parks and public spaces, this name was nominated by a community member and determined through a community vote.Mamie “Peanut” Johnson Plaza weaves together neighborhoods including NoMa and Eckington, and improves cross-neighborhood connectivity.
The NoMa Business Improvement District (BID) and NoMa Parks Foundation (NPF) partnered with the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) on the redesign of the Florida-New York Avenue NE intersection to address many of the confusing, unpleasant, and dangerous conditions that persisted in the former space. The reconfigured intersection added two-way traffic to First Street NE and on Florida Avenue NE. In addition, protected bicycle lanes were installed, along with other improvements to safety and navigation for pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers.
Project Benefits
The project:
- enhances safety and comfort for visitors, residents, and daily users;
- creates a visually compelling sense of arrival into the heart of NoMa and Washington DC;
- delivers more than one acre of public space that is active, healthy, and vibrant; and
- fosters a strong sense of community.
Project History
For years, DDOT has made many adjustments to and studied major capital improvements for the intersection of Florida Ave NE, New York Ave NE, First Street NE, and Eckington Place NE. In 2019, Mayor Muriel Bowser included $35 million in the District’s capital budget to complete the reconfiguration of the Florida Avene-New York Avenue NE (FL-NY) Intersection. With the DC Council’s approval of the capital budget, the project began in earnest in September 2021 with the DC Government’s acquisition of the Wendy’s parcel that was needed to realign First Street NE for the project.
The NoMa Parks Foundation hired landscape architecture firm SWA/Balsley through an RFP process targeting firms with expertise in turning high-traffic urban spaces into welcoming community assets. NPF used its funds to pay for the public space designs and manage the design and community input processes for the new public spaces. The public provided input on the conceptual designs at a virtual public meeting in May 2020. In Summer and Fall 2020, the design for the public spaces received concept approval from the U.S. Commission on Fine Arts (CFA), the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), and the District of Columbia State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO).
For more information about the FL-NY Intersection redevelopment project including detailed presentations and recordings of meetings, please visit DDOT’s project web page.
