The West End is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C.. It includes the area between K Street to the south, Rock Creek Park to the west and north, and New Hampshire Avenue and 21st Street to the east. The West End is so named because it was the westernmost part of the original Pierre L'Enfant plan for the city of Washington, before the annexation of Georgetown. It is home to the embassies of Qatar and Spain, as well as to the Egyptian Defense Office. The George Washington University and The George Washington University Medical Center are on the edge of the West End, at Washington Circle.
In the past, the West End had many vacant lots and old buildings. In 1972, the District's Office of Planning and Management wrote an urban renewal plan "to bring life to a declining part of the city." Titled "New Town for the West End," the aerial photograph on the cover of the study showed the area that was planned to become a "new intown community." Today, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Residences, the Park Hyatt and Fairmont hotels, numerous luxury condominiums, and several of the city's best restaurants are in the West End. However, the Columbia Hospital for Women closed and became apartments.
The neighborhood is close to Georgetown, Foggy Bottom, Dupont Circle, the downtown business district, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Kennedy Center, and the Watergate.