Observatory Circle is a neighborhood in Northwest

Washington, D.C. (northwest)

Northwest is the northwestern quadrant of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and is located north of the National Mall and west of North Capitol Street...

 Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, dominated by the circle of the same name

Observatory Circle

Observatory Circle is a street in Washington, D.C. It runs from Calvert Street to Massachusetts Avenue near 34th Street. The street follows an incomplete loop, forming an arc rather than a circle...

 — the grounds of the United States Naval Observatory

United States Naval Observatory

The United States Naval Observatory is one of the oldest scientific agencies in the United States, with a primary mission to produce Positioning, Navigation, and Timing for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Department of Defense...

 and the official residence of the U.S. vice president

Number One Observatory Circle

Number One Observatory Circle is the official residence of the Vice President of the United States.Located on the northeast grounds of the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, DC, the house was built in 1893 for its superintendent. The Chief of Naval Operations liked the house so much...

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The neighborhood is bounded on the northeast by Massachusetts Avenue

Massachusetts Avenue (Washington, D.C.)

Massachusetts Avenue is a major diagonal transverse road in Washington, D.C., and the Massachusetts Avenue Historic District is a historic district that includes part of it....

; on the south by Calvert Street, the Observatory Circle property, and Whitehaven Street; and on the west by 37th Street.

The major thoroughfare of the neighborhood is Massachusetts Avenue, which in the area of Observatory Circle is mostly lined with embassies. Therefore most of the area is commonly regarded as Embassy Row

Embassy Row

Embassy Row is the informal name for a street or area of a city in which embassies or other diplomatic installations are concentrated. Washington, D.C.'s Embassy Row lies along Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., and its cross streets between Thomas Circle and Ward Circle, although the vast majority of...

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