Benito Juarez Is Staying Put at His Partial Circle

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THE VAST MAJORITY of the District's avenues named after states — at least those within the original L'Enfant Plan for the capital — meet at traffic circles and public squares. But then there's the junction of Virginia and New Hampshire avenues in front of the Watergate complex, which boasts a confusing set of turn-offs and a bisected circle.

As the Current reported last week, the Federal Highway Administration had come up with a plan to do away with the circle and create a more traditional intersection. But it would have meant moving the statue of Benito Juarez at the southern end of the circle complex — a development that didn't sit well with residents.

So the statue is staying put, although, according to a sign at the site, it needs rehabilitation work. It's currently outfitted with a thick belt around its base for protection.

The statue of Juarez, referred to by some as the Abraham Lincoln of Mexico, was given to the United States by the Mexican government in 1969 in exchange for one of Lincoln that President Lyndon Johnson gave to the Mexican government in 1966.

Photo by Michael Grass/Express