The George Washington Roundabout () is a roundabout located at the boundary of Saska KÃÂpa and Kamionek in the Praga-Poà Âudnie district of Warsaw, Poland, along Voivodeship Road 631.
Named in honour of George Washington (1732âÂÂ1799), the first President of the United States, the name has been in use since at least the early post-World War II years and was officially adopted by a Warsaw City Council resolution on 26 June 2000. The roundabout is surrounded by notable landmarks, including the Stadion Narodowy, Skaryszew Park, and a 1960s urban development.
Initially known as Paris Square, the area was later called Poniatowski Square. Around 1926, a plan was proposed to extend Józef Poniatowski Avenue towards Grochów, with a roundabout at its intersection with . The design envisioned a star-shaped plaza with five radiating streets: Poniatowski Avenue, Zieleniecka Avenue, , Elsterska Street, and Francuska Street. This concept was not fully realised, partly due to frequent changes in the location of exhibition grounds. Pre-war Warsaw maps suggest the roundabout was built with up to six connecting streets, bordered by an outer ring formed by Galijska Street and a surviving alley near the entrance to Skaryszew Park. A pre-war wooden manor house and orchard on the site blocked bus access from the roundabout to Francuska Street into Saska KÃÂpa until the mid-1930s. Between 1937 and 1938, new flowerbeds were planted, and benches were installed on the green spaces near the park entrance.
After World War II, in 1951, a plan was approved to construct an artists' studio complex with monumental and decorative features, including four exhibition halls, storage spaces, a Desa shop, a sculpting workshop, and a milk bar. Designed by with a distinctive peristyle colonnade, the project aimed to create a socialist realism gateway to the pre-war villa district of Saska KÃÂpa. The plan was ultimately abandoned.
In 1967, modernisation works reduced the central island's size, added funnel-shaped entry lanes, relocated tram stops, installed traffic lights, closed the Jakubowska Street exit, and constructed an underpass beneath Józef Poniatowski Avenue on the western side, opened in 1969. In 1968, the Monument of Gratitude to Soviet Army Soldiers was relocated deeper into Skaryszew Park, and associated graves were moved to the Mausoleum Cemetery of the Soviet Soldiers on .
The most recent addition is Stadion Narodowy, completed in 2011 on the site of the 10th-Anniversary Stadium, which opened in 1955. Built for the UEFA Euro 2012, the stadium prompted upgrades to the roundabout's pavements, road surface, and tram tracks.
The first tram line crossed the site in 1925, with a 1,525 mm gauge track running from the intersection of Jerusalem Avenue and New World Street to Targowa Street. Lines 7 and 12, previously using the Kierbedà º Bridge, were rerouted here, followed by the new line 24 and circular line M. In 1942, a 1,525 mm gauge line was extended along Washington Avenue to Wiatraczna Roundabout. Post-war, in 1946, the tracks were converted to a 1,435 mm gauge.
The first bus line, unnumbered and seasonal, began operating in 1932, connecting New World Street to Skaryszew Park. In 1935, a permanent line S linked Saska KÃÂpa estates to the tram stop at the roundabout.