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1945 Map of Washington West

Name: 1945 Topographic Map of Washington West
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1945
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1945

About this map

Arlington National Cemetery and the monumental core of the nation's capital define this mid-century portrait of a rapidly expanding metropolitan area. The landscape is a mix of dense urban development and the strategic defensive rings of the Civil War era, preserved as parkland at Fort Stevens, Fort De Russey, and Fort Reno. The transit network is in a state of transition, showing the C & O Canal (Abandoned) alongside the active Baltimore and Ohio RR and an intricate web of avenues like Massachusetts Ave and Wisconsin Ave that spurred growth in neighborhoods such as Cleveland Park and Chevy Chase.

Beyond the federal district, suburban Maryland and Virginia reach a critical density. Significant institutional footprints are visible at the Naval Observatory and Walter Reed Hospital, while the Virginia side reveals the grid of Clarendon and the expansive grounds of Fort Myer. This survey captures the capital just as the post-war suburban boom began to fully integrate outlying villages like Bethesda and Silver Spring into the continuous urban fabric.