[4] In June 2020, the section immediately north of the White House was renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza.

In July 2005, just before Congress's summer recess, Texas Republican congressman Henry Bonilla quietly introduced resolution H.R.

Mayor Anthony A. Williams objected on the grounds that the proposal would have changed Pierre L'Enfant's 1791 design for the city and cost an estimated $1 million for new signs and maps.

The plan was ultimately quashed by Rep. Tom Davis, chairman of the House Government Reform Committee and a fellow Republican representing Washington's Virginia suburbs.

[9][10][11] Later that day, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that part of the street had been ceremonially renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza.

[14][15] Early in the city's history, many foreign countries opened their embassies on 16th Street because of its proximity to the White House.

Other notable buildings include the Scottish Rite Masons' House of the Temple, Carnegie Institution for Science, Robert Simpson Woodward House, the Warder Mansion, Carter Barron Amphitheater, the Washington, D.C. Jewish Community Center, and the Toutorsky Mansion.

The street's proximity to Rock Creek Park and importance as a thoroughfare has made it a natural dividing boundary for Washington neighborhoods.