Image by: Rebecca Sheir

D.C.'s Meridian Hill Park got its name from the Prime Meridian Thomas Jefferson proposed along 16th Street NW.

In The Prime: Washington's Meridian

From: Rebecca Sheir
Length: 03:35

What if Washington, D.C., really were the middle of the world? Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: In The Prime: Washington's Meridian
From: Rebecca Sheir

_11 Thomas Jefferson wanted the U.S. to be scientifically and politically independent from Europe, so he wished for the national capital to have its own Prime Meridian. Greenwich, England won out in the end, but Rebecca Sheir visits two D.C. landmarks that, once upon a time, would have been found along the "Washington Meridian."

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Piece Description

Thomas Jefferson wanted the U.S. to be scientifically and politically independent from Europe, so he wished for the national capital to have its own Prime Meridian. Greenwich, England won out in the end, but Rebecca Sheir visits two D.C. landmarks that, once upon a time, would have been found along the "Washington Meridian."

Broadcast History

A version of this story originally aired on WAMU 88.5's Metro Connection, Friday 12/5/10.

Intro and Outro

INTRO:

It’s been nearly 130 years since Washington, D.C., hosted the International Meridian Conference, where 25 nations decided where the world’s Prime Meridian ought to be.

The 41 delegates decided on Greenwich, England. But as Rebecca Sheir tells us, before the Royal Greenwich Observatory became the natural splitting point for the globe’s longitude, Washington, D.C., had a meridian of its own...

OUTRO:

Rebecca Sheir is the host and producer of Metro Connection, on WAMU 88.5 in Washington, D.C.