Logan Circle, Washington, D.C.

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Map of Washington, D.C., with Logan Circle highlighted in red

Logan Circle Park

Logan Circle is a neighborhood in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C.. Logan Circle lies six blocks east of Dupont Circle and together they form a triangle with the White House. The actual traffic circle is the intersection of 13th Street, P Street, Rhode Island Avenue and Vermont Avenue, with a federal park in the middle. The neighborhood designates itself with the borders of S Street to the north, 11th Street to the east, 16th Street to the west, and Massachusetts Avenue to the south.

Originally called "Iowa Circle," Logan was renamed by Congress in 1930 in honor of John Logan, a Civil War general and U.S. senator. At the center of the circle is a monument to Major General Logan. The circle is surrounded by many old homes, one of which belonged to the son of American Civil War General and U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant.

In the past decade, the area has become gentrified, and housing costs have soared (albeit from a depressed base due to the overt drug and prostitution markets that existed in the neighborhood through the mid 1990's). The commercial corridor along 14th Street NW is undergoing significant revitalization; as of 2005, it is known for both art galleries and live theater. A number of new bars and restaurants have opened on the street as well. This has been assisted by the economic development of the U Street Corridor several blocks north. A watershed event in the development of the neighborhood was the opening of a new, busy Whole Foods Market two blocks from Logan Circle in 1999, on a site previously occupied by an abandoned parking garage.

The recent gentrification is reflected in the apparently vague boundaries of the Logan Circle neighborhood. Until approximately the year 2000, many of the residents of the blocks east of 16th Street, which nominally divides the Dupont Circle and Logan Circle neighborhoods, identified themselves as living in "Dupont East." However, as Logan Circle has transformed from a neighborhood better known for drug dealers and prostitutes into one of the city's most sought-after addresses, the "Logan Circle" stigma has mostly faded. As of 2005, real estate agents now refer to properties as far east as 10th Street as "Logan Circle".

Logan Circle has also become increasingly identified with the gay community of the District, along with Dupont Circle and 17th Street, which is considered the residential and commercial center of gay Washington.