D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 10-A, § 1612
1612.1 This Policy Focus Area is located east of Metro Center and the Retail Core. It is roughly bounded by 9th Street NW on the west, 5th Street NW on the east, Pennsylvania Avenue NW on the south, and I Street NW on the north. The area includes the Gallery Place-Chinatown Metro station and the Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter Metro station. Its character is more diverse than the Metro Center area, with a large number of housing units, galleries, theaters, museums, and hospitality uses, as well as offices and retail shops.
1612.2 Gallery Place/Penn Quarter is a thriving retail destination, cultural center, and activity hub for the District. Since opening in 1997, the 20,000- seat Capital One Arena has brought millions of sports and concert patrons to the area. The arena has ushered in a boom in restaurants, bars, night clubs, and entertainment-oriented retail. The opening of the 250,000-square-foot Gallery Place mixed-use complex in 2005 has further boosted the area's reputation as the center of Washington, DC's nightlife and entertainment scene.
1612.3 In addition, the reopening of the National Portrait Gallery/Smithsonian American Art Museum in 2006, and the presence of major art galleries and theaters, has made the area the city's preeminent center for arts and culture. The Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Gallery Place and E Street cinemas, and Shakespeare Theater Company theater bring additional evening foot traffic to the area and further support the restaurant and gallery scene.
1612.4 The area is also an important residential neighborhood and includes Penn Quarter buildings like the Lansburgh and the Pennsylvania.
1612.5 Meanwhile, reinvestment in public and private buildings is prompting a discussion on Pennsylvania Avenue's role in the 21st-century capital. Regarding this issue, NCPC, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), NPS, and the District government formed an executive committee and launched the Pennsylvania Avenue Initiative to consider near- and long-term improvements to the avenue. Pennsylvania Avenue is one of Washington's—and the world's—most recognized streets, physically and symbolically connecting the U.S. Capitol with the White House. As a home to federal headquarters, businesses, museums, residents, civic activities, and lively downtown events, it plays a significant economic and cultural role in the capital city. Presently, the avenue retains a strong civic identity and character but does not provide a consistently engaging experience. With public input and the guidance of the executive committee, the initiative is exploring potential physical, economic, and operational changes to strengthen the avenue's national and local presence in Washington, DC.
1612.6 The continued development of this area as an arts and entertainment district
should be supported. As thousands of new housing units have come online in Mount Vernon Triangle and along Massachusetts Avenue, the area’s resident customer base continues to expand. Its position as Washington, DC’s top location for arts and entertainment should be sustained by encouraging additional venues, providing new amenities, and strengthening connections to the National Mall, Retail Core, and Mount Vernon District.
Continue to promote Gallery Place and 7th Street NW area as a pedestrian-oriented arts and entertainment district, with nightlife and restaurants, theaters, galleries, and independent and national retailers. Continuous ground floor retail, arts, and entertainment uses should be encouraged along 7th Street NW between Mount Vernon Square and Pennsylvania Avenue NW.
Promote the area bounded by 6th Street, 14th Street, F Street, and Pennsylvania Avenue NW as an internationally recognized theater district, capitalizing on the presence of long-existing theaters—such as the National, Warner, Ford’s, Woolly Mammoth, and the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Lansburgh—and theaters such as the Harman Center for the Arts and the Washington Stage Guild. Marketing, promotion, signage, and special programs should be used to brand the area as the region’s top performing arts center. Complementary evening uses, such as restaurants, should be encouraged in this area.
Continue to develop Penn Quarter as a mixed-use urban neighborhood. Residential uses should be complemented by additional arts, cultural, retail, and office use, as well as open space.
Retain and adaptively reuse historic buildings within the Penn Quarter/Gallery Place area. The area’s historic features are an essential part of the Quarter’s success and ambiance as an arts district and must be preserved. New construction in the area should respect the historically low-scale building features along 7th Street NW, stepping down as appropriate to preserve the scale and context of important historic buildings.
See also the Urban Design and Historic Preservation elements for additional policies relating to historic resources and design.
Improve the linkages from the Gallery Place/Penn Quarter area to the National Mall on the south, the Retail Core on the west, and the Mount Vernon Square and
Mount Vernon Triangle area on the north. The north-south linkages along 7th, 8th, and 9th Streets NW are particularly important. Given the low traffic volumes along 8th Street NW between F Street NW and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, the street's role as a pedestrian-oriented space linking the National Archives and National Portrait Gallery should be emphasized. Its potential as a large, flexible, programmable open space should be recognized.
Prepare streetscape improvement plans for 7th, 8th, and 9th Streets NW that physically reinforce the desired character of the area as the District's Arts Walk and provide space for performance, street theater, public art and exhibitions, and other activities that reinforce its role as an entertainment district. Streetscape improvements should be compatible with the approved PADC Plan for this area.
SOURCE: District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984, effective April 10, 1984 (D.C. Law 5-76; 31 DCR 1049 (March 9, 1984)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984 Land Use Element Amendment Act of 1984, effective March 16, 1985 (D.C. Law 5-187; 32 DCR 873 (February 15, 1985)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1989, effective May 23, 1990 (D.C. Law 8-129; 37 DCR 55 (January 5, 1990)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1989 NCPC-Recommended Amendments, and Closing of Public Alleys in Square 669, S.O. 88-452, Act of 1990, effective May 23, 1990 (D.C. Law 8-132; 37 DCR 2213 (April 6, 1990)); as amended by District Government Land Use Temporary Amendment Act of 1994, effective October 1, 1994 (D.C. Law 10-190; 41 DCR 5360 (August 12, 1994)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1994, effective October 6, 1994 (D.C. Law 10-193; 41 DCR 5536 (August 19, 1994)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984 Land Use Amendment Act of 1994, effective March 21, 1995 (D.C. Law 10-235; 42 DCR 30 (January 6, 1995)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 1996, effective April 18, 1996 (D.C. Law 11-110; 43 DCR 530 (February 9, 1996)); as amended by Second Technical Amendments Act of 1996, effective April 9, 1997 (D.C. Law 11-255; 44 DCR 1271 (March 7, 1997)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 1998, effective April 27, 1999 (D.C. Law 12-275; 46 DCR 1441 (February 19, 1999)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 1999, effective April 12, 2000 (D.C. Law 13-91; 47 DCR 520 (January 28, 2000)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2006, effective March 8, 2007 (D.C. Law 16-300; 54 DCR 924 (February 2, 2007)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 2008, effective March 25, 2009 (D.C. Law 17-353; 56 DCR 1117 (February 6, 2009)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2010, effective April 8, 2011 (D.C. Law 18-361; 58 DCR 908 (February 4, 2011)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2021, effective August 21, 2021 (D.C. Law 24-20; 68 DCR 006918 (July 16, 2021)).