16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Formal reopening of investigation, Prosecution of Robert Chambliss
Following the closing arguments, the jury retired to begin their deliberations, which lasted for over six hours and continued into the following day. On November 18, 1977, they found Robert Chambliss guilty of the murder of Carol Denise McNair. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for her murder. At his sentencing, Chambliss stood before the judge and stated: "Judge, your honor, all I can say is God knows I have never killed anybody, never have bombed anything in my life ... I didn't bomb that church."


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Formal reopening of investigation, Prosecution of Robert Chambliss
On the same afternoon that Chambliss's guilty verdict was announced, prosecutor Baxley issued a subpoena to Thomas Blanton to appear in court about the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. Although Baxley knew he had insufficient evidence to charge Blanton at this stage, he intended the subpoena to frighten Blanton into confessing his involvement and negotiating a plea deal to turn state evidence against his co-conspirators. Blanton, however, hired a lawyer and refused to answer any questions.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Formal reopening of investigation, Prosecution of Robert Chambliss
Chambliss appealed his conviction, as provided under the law, saying that much of the evidence presented at his trial—including testimony relating to his activities within the KKK—was circumstantial; that the 14-year delay between the crime and his trial violated his constitutional right to a speedy trial; and the prosecution had deliberately used the delay to try to gain an advantage over Chambliss's defense attorneys. This appeal was dismissed on May 22, 1979.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Formal reopening of investigation, Prosecution of Robert Chambliss
Robert Chambliss died in the Lloyd Noland Hospital and Health Center on October 29, 1985, at the age of 81. In the years since his incarceration, Chambliss had been confined to a solitary cell to protect him from attacks by fellow inmates. He had repeatedly proclaimed his innocence, insisting Gary Thomas Rowe Jr. was the actual perpetrator.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions
In 1995, ten years after Chambliss died, the FBI reopened their investigation into the church bombing. It was part of a coordinated effort between local, state and federal governments to review cold cases of the civil rights era in the hopes of prosecuting perpetrators. They unsealed 9,000 pieces of evidence previously gathered by the FBI in the 1960s (many of these documents relating to the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing had not been made available to DA William Baxley in the 1970s).


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions
In May 2000, the FBI publicly announced their findings that the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing had been committed by four members of the KKK splinter group known as the Cahaba Boys. The four individuals named in the FBI report were Blanton, Cash, Chambliss, and Cherry. By the time of the announcement, Herman Cash had also died;  however, Thomas Blanton and Bobby Cherry were still alive. Both were arrested.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions
On May 16, 2000, a grand jury in Alabama indicted Thomas Edwin Blanton and Bobby Frank Cherry on eight counts each in relation to the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. Both named individuals were charged with four counts of first-degree murder, and four counts of universal malice. The following day, both men surrendered to police.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions
The state prosecution had originally intended to try both defendants together; however, the trial of Bobby Cherry was delayed due to the findings of a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation. It concluded that vascular dementia had impaired his mind, therefore making Cherry mentally incompetent to stand trial or assist in his own defense.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions
On April 10, 2001, Judge James Garrett indefinitely postponed Cherry's trial, pending further medical analysis. In January 2002, Judge Garrett ruled Cherry mentally competent to stand trial and set an initial trial date for April 29.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Thomas Edwin Blanton
Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr. was brought to trial in Birmingham, Alabama, before Judge James Garrett on April 24, 2001. Blanton pleaded not guilty to the charges and chose not to testify on his behalf throughout the trial.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Thomas Edwin Blanton
In his opening statement to the jurors, defense attorney John Robbins acknowledged his client's affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan and his views on racial segregation. But, he warned the jury: "Just because you don't like him, that doesn't make him responsible for the bombing."


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Thomas Edwin Blanton
The prosecution called a total of seven witnesses to testify in their case against Blanton, including relatives of the victims, John Cross, the former pastor of the 16th Street Baptist Church; an FBI agent named William Fleming, and Mitchell Burns, a former Klansman who had become a paid FBI informant. Burns had secretly recorded several conversations with Blanton in which the latter (Blanton) had gloated when talking about the bombing, and had boasted the police would not catch him when he bombed another church.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Thomas Edwin Blanton
The most crucial piece of evidence presented at Blanton's trial was an audio recording secretly taped by the FBI in June 1964, in which Blanton was recorded discussing his involvement in the bombing with his wife, who can be heard accusing her husband of conducting an affair with a woman named Waylen Vaughn two nights before the bombing. Although sections of the recording—presented in evidence on April 27—are unintelligible, Blanton can twice be heard mentioning the phrase "plan a bomb" or "plan the bomb". Most crucially, Blanton can also be heard saying that he was not with Miss Vaughn but, two nights before the bombing, was at a meeting with other Klansmen on a bridge above the Cahaba River. He said: "You've got to have a meeting to plan a bomb."


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Thomas Edwin Blanton
In addition to calling attention to flaws in the prosecution's case, the defense exposed inconsistencies in the memories of some prosecution witnesses who had testified. Blanton's attorneys criticized the validity and quality of the 16 tape recordings introduced as evidence, arguing that the prosecution had edited and spliced the sections of the audio recording that were secretly obtained within Blanton's kitchen, reducing the entirety of the tape by 26 minutes. He said that the sections introduced as evidence were of poor audio quality, resulting in the prosecution presenting text transcripts of questionable accuracy to the jury.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Thomas Edwin Blanton
About the recordings made as Blanton conversed with Burns, Robbins emphasized that Burns had earlier testified that Blanton had never expressly said that he had made or planted the bomb. The defense  portrayed the audiotapes introduced into evidence as the statements of "two rednecks driving around, drinking" and making false, ego-inflating claims to one another.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Thomas Edwin Blanton
The trial lasted for one week. Seven witnesses testified on behalf of the prosecution, and two for the defense. One of the defense witnesses was a retired chef named Eddie Mauldin, who was called to testify to discredit prosecution witnesses' statements that they had seen Blanton in the vicinity of the church before the bombing.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Thomas Edwin Blanton
Mauldin testified on April 30 that he had observed two men in a Rambler station wagon adorned with a Confederate flag repeatedly drive past the church immediately before the blast, and that, seconds after the bomb had exploded, the car had "burned rubber" as it drove away. (Thomas Blanton had owned a Chevrolet in 1963; neither Chambliss, Cash nor Cherry had owned such a vehicle.)


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Thomas Edwin Blanton
Both counsels delivered their closing arguments before the jury on May 1. In his closing argument, prosecuting attorney and future U.S. Senator Doug Jones said that although the trial was conducted 38 years after the bombing, it was no less important, adding: "It's never too late for the truth to be told ... It's never too late for a man to be held accountable for his crimes." Jones reviewed Blanton's extensive history with the Ku Klux Klan, before referring to the audio recordings presented earlier in the trial. Jones repeated the most damning statements Blanton had made in these recordings, before pointing at Blanton and stating: "That is a confession out of this man's mouth."


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Thomas Edwin Blanton
Defense attorney John Robbins reminded the jury in his closing argument that his client was an admitted segregationist and a "loudmouth", but that was all that could be proven. He said this past was not the evidence upon which they should return their verdicts. Stressing that Blanton should not be judged for his beliefs, Robbins again vehemently criticized the validity and poor quality of the audio recordings presented, and the selectivity of the sections which had been introduced into evidence. Robbins also discredited the testimony of FBI agent William Fleming, who had earlier testified as to a government witness claiming he had seen Blanton in the vicinity of the church shortly before the bombing.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Thomas Edwin Blanton
The jury deliberated for two and a half hours before returning with a verdict finding Thomas Edwin Blanton guilty of four counts of first-degree murder. When asked by the judge whether he had anything to say before sentence was imposed, Blanton said: "I guess the Lord will settle it on Judgment Day."


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Thomas Edwin Blanton
Blanton was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was incarcerated at the St. Clair Correctional Facility in Springville, Alabama. Blanton was confined in a one-man cell under tight security. He seldom spoke of his involvement in the bombing, shunned social activity and rarely received visitors.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Thomas Edwin Blanton
His first parole hearing was held on August 3, 2016. Relatives of the slain girls, prosecutor Doug Jones, Alabama Chief Deputy Attorney General Alice Martin, and Jefferson County district attorney Brandon Falls each spoke at the hearing to oppose Blanton's parole. Martin said: "The cold-blooded callousness of this hate crime has not diminished by the passage of time." The Board of Pardons and Paroles debated for less than 90 seconds before denying parole to Blanton.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Thomas Edwin Blanton
Blanton died in prison from unspecified causes on June 26, 2020.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Bobby Frank Cherry
Bobby Frank Cherry was tried in Birmingham, Alabama, before Judge James Garrett, on May 6, 2002. Cherry  pleaded not guilty to the charges and did not testify on his own behalf during the trial.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Bobby Frank Cherry
In his opening statement for the prosecution, Don Cochran presented his case: that the evidence would show that Cherry had participated in a conspiracy to commit the bombing and conceal evidence linking him to the crime and that he had later gloated over the deaths of the victims. Cochran also added that although the evidence to be presented would not conclusively show that Cherry had personally planted or ignited the bomb, the combined evidence would illustrate that he had aided and abetted in the commission of the act.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Bobby Frank Cherry
Cherry's defense attorney, Mickey Johnson, protested his client's innocence, citing that much of the evidence presented was circumstantial. He also noted that Cherry had initially been linked to the bombing by the FBI via an informant who had claimed, fifteen months after the bombing, that she had seen Cherry place the bomb at the church shortly before the bombing. Johnson warned the jurors they would have to distinguish between evidence and proof.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Bobby Frank Cherry
Following the opening statements, the prosecution began presenting witnesses. Crucial testimony at Cherry's trial was delivered by his former wife, Willadean Brogdon, who had married Cherry in 1970. Brogdon testified on May 16 that Cherry had boasted to her that he had been the individual who planted the bomb beneath the steps to the church, then returned hours later to light the fuse to the dynamite. Brogdon also testified that Cherry had told her of his regret that children had died in the bombing, before adding his satisfaction that they would never reproduce.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Bobby Frank Cherry
Although the credibility of Brogdon's testimony was called into dispute at the trial, forensic experts conceded that, although her account of the planting of the bombing differed from that which had been discussed in the previous perpetrators' trials, Brogdon's recollection of Cherry's account of the planting and subsequent lighting of the bomb could explain why no conclusive remnants of a timing device were discovered after the bombing. (A fishing float attached to a section of wire, which may have been part of a timing device, was found 20 feet (6.1 m) from the explosion crater following the bombing. One of several vehicles severely damaged in the explosion was found to have carried fishing tackle.)


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Bobby Frank Cherry
Barbara Ann Cross also testified for the prosecution. She is the daughter of the Reverend John Cross and was aged 13 in 1963. Cross had attended the same Sunday School class as the four victims on the day of the bombing and was slightly wounded in the attack. On May 15, Cross testified that prior to the explosion, she and the four girls killed had each attended a Youth Day Sunday School lesson in which the theme taught was how to react to a physical injustice.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Bobby Frank Cherry
Cross testified that each girl present had been taught to contemplate how Jesus would react to affliction or injustice, and they were asked to learn to consider, "What Would Jesus Do?" Cross testified that she would usually have accompanied her friends into the basement lounge to change into robes for the forthcoming sermon, but she had been given an assignment. Shortly thereafter, she had heard "the most horrible noise", before being struck on the head by debris.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Bobby Frank Cherry
Throughout the trial, Cherry's defense attorney, Mickey Johnson, repeatedly observed that many of the prosecution's witnesses were either circumstantial or "inherently unreliable". Many of the same audiotapes presented in Blanton's trial were also introduced into evidence in the trial of Bobby Cherry. A key point contested as to the validity of the audiotapes being introduced into evidence, outside the hearing of the jury, was the fact that Cherry had no grounds to contest the introduction of the tapes into evidence, as, under the Fourth Amendment, neither his home or property had been subject to discreet recording by the FBI.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Bobby Frank Cherry
Don Cochran disputed this position, arguing that Alabama law provides for "conspiracies to conceal evidence" to be proven by both inference and circumstantial evidence. In spite of a rebuttal argument by the defense, Judge Garrett ruled that some sections were too prejudicial, but also that portions of some audio recordings could be introduced as evidence. Through these rulings, Mitchell Burns was called to testify on behalf of the prosecution. His testimony was restricted to the areas of the recordings permitted into evidence.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Bobby Frank Cherry
On May 21, 2002, both prosecution and defense attorneys delivered their closing arguments to the jury. In his closing argument for the prosecution, Don Cochran said the victims' "Youth Sunday [sermon] never happened ... because it was destroyed by this defendant's hate." Cochran outlined Cherry's extensive record of racial violence dating back to the 1950s, and noted that he had experience and training in constructing and installing bombs from his service as a Marine demolition expert.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Bobby Frank Cherry
Cochran also reminded the jury of a secretly obtained FBI recording, which had earlier been introduced into evidence, in which Cherry had told his first wife, Jean, that he and other Klansmen had constructed the bomb within the premises of business the Friday before the bombing. He said that Cherry had signed an affidavit in the presence of the FBI on October 9, 1963, confirming that he, Chambliss, and Blanton were at these premises on this date.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Bobby Frank Cherry
In the closing argument for the defense, attorney Mickey Johnson argued that Cherry had nothing to do with the bombing, and reminded the jurors that his client was not on trial for his beliefs, stating: "It seems like more time has been spent here throwing around the n-word than proving what happened in September 1963." Johnson reiterated that there was no hard evidence linking Cherry to the bombing, but only evidence attesting to his racist beliefs dating from that era, adding that the family members who had testified against him were all estranged and therefore should be considered unreliable witnesses. Johnson urged the jury against convicting his client by association.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Bobby Frank Cherry
Following these closing arguments, the jury retired to consider their verdicts. These deliberations continued until the following day.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Bobby Frank Cherry
On the afternoon of May 22, after the jury had deliberated for almost seven hours, the forewoman announced they had reached their verdicts: Bobby Frank Cherry was convicted of four counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Cherry remained stoic as the sentence was read aloud. Relatives of the four victims openly wept in relief.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Bobby Frank Cherry
When asked by the judge whether he had anything to say before sentence was imposed, Cherry motioned to the prosecutors and stated: "This whole bunch lied through this thing [the trial]. I told the truth. I don't know why I'm going to jail for nothing. I haven't done anything!"


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Bobby Frank Cherry
Bobby Frank Cherry died of cancer on November 18, 2004, at age 74, while incarcerated at the Kilby Correctional Facility.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Later prosecutions, Bobby Frank Cherry
Following the convictions of Blanton and Cherry, Alabama's former Attorney General, William Baxley, expressed his frustration that he had never been informed of the existence of the FBI audio recordings before they were introduced in the 2001 and 2002 trials. Baxley acknowledged that typical juries in 1960s Alabama would have likely leaned in favor of both defendants, even if these recordings had been presented as evidence, but said that he could have prosecuted Thomas Blanton and Bobby Cherry in 1977 if he had been granted access to these tapes. (A 1980 Justice Department report concluded that J. Edgar Hoover had blocked the prosecution of the four bombing suspects in 1965, and he officially closed the FBI's investigation in 1968.)


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, A possible fifth conspirator
Although both Blanton and Cherry denied their involvement in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, until his death in 1985, Robert Chambliss repeatedly insisted that the bombing had been committed by Gary Thomas Rowe Jr. Rowe had been encouraged to join the Klan by acquaintances in 1960. He became a paid FBI informant in 1961. In this role, Rowe acted as an agent provocateur between 1961 and 1965. Although informative to the FBI, Rowe actively participated in violence against both black and white civil rights activists. By Rowe's own later admission, while serving as an FBI informant, he had shot and killed an unidentified black man and had been an accessory to the murder of Viola Liuzzo.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, A possible fifth conspirator
Investigative records show that Rowe had twice failed polygraph tests when questioned as to his possible involvement in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing and two separate, non-fatal explosions. These polygraph results had convinced some FBI agents of Rowe's culpability in the bombing. Prosecutors at Chambliss's 1977 trial had initially intended to call Rowe as a witness; however, DA William Baxley had chosen not to call Rowe as a witness after being informed of the results of these polygraph tests.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, A possible fifth conspirator
Although never formally named as one of the conspirators by the FBI, Rowe's record of deception on the polygraph tests leaves open the possibility that Chambliss's claims may have held a degree of truth. Nonetheless, a 1979 investigation cleared Rowe of any involvement in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing.


16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Aftermath
I remembered the bombing of that Sunday School at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham in 1963. I did not see it happen, but I heard it happen and I felt it happen, just a few blocks away at my father's church. It is a sound that I will never forget, that will forever reverberate in my ears. That bomb took the lives of four young girls, including my friend and playmate [Carol] Denise McNair. The crime was calculated, not random. It was meant to suck the hope out of young lives, bury their aspirations, and ensure that old fears would be propelled forward into the next generation.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.)
The 16th Street Bridge, also known as the Piney Branch Bridge, is an automobile and pedestrian bridge that carries 16th Street NW over Piney Branch and Piney Branch Parkway in Washington, D.C. It was the first parabolic arch bridge in the United States. Construction on the first span began in 1905 as part of the northward extension of 16th Street, and was finished in 1907 but was never opened to traffic. The second span began construction in 1909 and was completed in 1910. The bridge was renovated in 1990, and again beginning in October 2014.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.)
The bridge, which spans the Piney Branch addition to Rock Creek Park, sits at the corner of four Washington, D.C., neighborhoods: Sixteenth Street Heights, Crestwood, Columbia Heights, and Mount Pleasant.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Description
The 16th Street Bridge is 272 feet (83 m) long. Its span is 125 feet (38 m) in length, and has a rise of 45 feet (14 m). The span is a parabolic arch, the first built in the United States and the longest in the world at the time, according to its designer, W.J. Douglas. The abutments and substructure of the bridge are of reinforced concrete; the arch itself is not reinforced with steel. The interior of the bridge is hollow. Square vertical interior columns 2 feet (0.61 m) in length on each side support the road deck.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Description
A latticework of horizontal square beams, each 1 square foot (0.093 m2) in size, intersect the columns and are set perpendicular to one another. This system of columns and beams compress the arch and keep it stable as well push outward against the walls. The bridge's abutments are hollow. The abutments are stabilized by soil pressing against them from the outside, and the system of beams and columns on the interior of the bridge.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Description
The walls of the bridge and the abutments are 2 feet (0.61 m) thick. A bluish crushed diorite was added to the concrete used to pour the walls of the abutments and the spandrel walls, which were left unfinished, and reflect the texture of the wooden forms used to create them. However, the archivolt, balustrade, and pilasters, whose concrete includes yellow sand and crushed granite, have a much different texture. These elements were removed from their molds before the concrete was fully hardened, then roughened with stiff brushes, helping to expose the granite particles within and make them glitter in the sun.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Description
The bridge superstructure rests on walls and columns. The 25-foot (7.6 m) wide spans are of reinforced concrete. Steel beams, their ends resting on the walls of the two bridges, close the gap between the spans. Reinforced concrete slabs lie atop these beams to create a unified deck. Concrete balustrades and newels create a railing on the east and west sides of the bridge. The road is 45 feet (14 m) wide, and 8-foot (2.4 m) sidewalks are on either side of the roadway. Granite curbs define the cement sidewalk. The deck is topped by asphalt. At 65 feet (20 m) in width (roadway and sidewalks), the deck was the widest in the city when built and could support 40 short tons (36 t).


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Description
The bridge has four ornamental cast iron lampposts. The ends of the bridge are flanked by two bronze reclining tigers on concrete pedestals. The archivolt consists of three arch rings, and is of smoothed concrete. Pilasters flank the arch on the sides of the bridge. Stylistically, the bridge is Neoclassical in design.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Authorization of the first span
On March 30, 1899, the United States Congress authorized the extension of 16th Street NW from Morris Road NW (now Monroe Street NW) to the D.C.-Maryland line. Condemnation proceedings to obtain land began on December 2, 1900, were completed on May 27, 1901, and were approved by the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia on April 19, 1902. By November 1903, work had almost reached the stream known as Piney Branch, which runs through a valley about 60 feet (18 m) below the grade of the street.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Authorization of the first span
On December 10, 1903, the Commissioners of the District of Columbia asked Congress for a 300-foot (91 m) bridge to carry one or two lanes of 16th Street NW over Piney Branch. The bridge, whose cost was estimated at $50,000 ($1,422,778 in 2019 dollars), would be long enough to permit a parkway to pass beneath it.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Authorization of the first span
In March 1904, the commissioners' request finally saw action. Senator Jacob Gallinger (R-New Hampshire) offered an amendment to the Senate's 1905 District of Columbia appropriations bill which both authorized the city to construct the bridge and appropriated $50,000 ($1,422,778 in 2019 dollars) for this purpose. The House D.C. appropriations bill also contained the same language, but this provision was stricken from the bill on the floor of the house on March 18. Undeterred, the Senate Committee on the District of Columbia included the bridge authorization in the 1905 D.C. appropriations bill just five days later. The legislation, however, authorized a $50,000 concrete bridge but appropriated only $20,000 ($569,111 in 2019 dollars) for its construction. Half the money came from the federal government, and half from the city.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Authorization of the first span
A fight erupted on the floor of the Senate over the bridge provision. Both the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Senate Committee on the District of Columbia approved the bridge. But many Senators were unhappy that the federal budget was increasing rapidly. The bill was held up for 10 months, while Senators worked behind the scenes to resolve these differences. The D.C. appropriations bill did not reach the Senate floor for another 10 months. When the bill did reach the chamber floor on February 15, 1905, Senator Stephen B. Elkins (R-West Virginia) demanded that the bridge provision be removed.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Authorization of the first span
Senator William B. Allison (R-Iowa) rose to support the expenditure. Their floor fight lasted three full days. Elkins claimed on February 16 that no citizens of the city wanted the bridge, and he demanded a full Senate vote on the bridge amendment. Senator Allison replied on February 17 by bringing in petitions from the Brightwood Citizens Association and the Mt. Pleasant Citizens Association asking for construction of the bridge, and pointing out that these petitions had been delivered to the Senate some months ago. Although Elkins won a vote on the amendment, the Senate overwhelmingly approved its inclusion in the final bill on February 17, ending the three-day floor fight.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Authorization of the first span
A conference committee was now appointed by the House and Senate to reconcile the two different D.C appropriations bills. The House voted on February 18 to instruct its conferees to oppose the bridge amendment. The conference began meeting the week of February 20. On Sunday, February 26, the conferees agreed to include the bridge authorization and expenditure in the 1905 D.C. appropriations bill. The conference bill was introduced in the Senate on February 28, and hours later it approved the legislation. The House unanimously approved it on the afternoon of March 1. President Theodore Roosevelt signed the bill into law a few days later.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Constructing the first span, Designs and selection of contractor
At the time the bridge was approved, Piney Branch was nearly impassable. A rough pine bridge existed at the site of the new bridge to permit pedestrian traffic, while horses and wagons used a nearby ford.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Constructing the first span, Designs and selection of contractor
With four months to prepare architectural designs for the bridge before the federal funds became available, the city was ready to build the bridge in July 1905. Major J.J. Morrow, Assistant Engineer Commissioner for the District of Columbia, and W.J. Douglas, Engineer of Bridges for the District of Columbia, submitted sketches of the bridge to the commissioners on July 12. The bridge's final design was by Douglas and city engineer William N. Reynolds (who was also the engineer in charge of construction). H.T. Pratt was the architectural draughtsman.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Constructing the first span, Designs and selection of contractor
Stylistically, the 16th Street Bridge was to look like the Connecticut Avenue Bridge (built between 1897 and 1907). Their design for the concrete bridge showed a span 125 feet (38 m) long and a road deck 20 to 25 feet (6.1 to 7.6 m) wide, and with as much ornamentation as budget would allow. By early August, the plans for the bridge were complete. The bridge would be 272 feet (83 m) long, with a 25-foot (7.6 m) wide road deck. The 125-foot (38 m) long span would rise 60 feet (18 m) above the valley floor.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Constructing the first span, Designs and selection of contractor
The bridge would be made of reinforced concrete and steel, with hollow spandrels between the arch and abutments. The roof and walls of the arch and the walls of the abutments ranged from 10 to 20 inches (25 to 51 cm) in thickness. Square columns, 2 feet (0.61 m) in length on each side, supported the road deck, and were linked internally by a latticework of 1 square foot (0.093 m2) horizontal concrete beams (which helped to compress the arch and keep it stable as well push outward against the walls).


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Constructing the first span, Designs and selection of contractor
Although the Piney Branch Bridge (as it was then known) was designed to carry two lanes of traffic and be a completed structure, the D.C. Commissioners expected to build a second span as soon as possible. This would expand the road deck to 70 feet (21 m). Subsequently, the first span was built 20 feet (6.1 m) off the centerline of 16th Street.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Constructing the first span, Designs and selection of contractor
Engineers estimated the foundations for the bridge would be complete before the onset of cold weather in December. Construction bids were advertised on August 26, 1905, and six bids were received by the September 16 deadline. The Pennsylvania Bridge Company was selected to construct the bridge. Although Congress had appropriated only $20,000 for the job, the city issued a contract worth $42,731 ($1,215,934 in 2019 dollars).


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Constructing the first span, 8-hour day law dispute
In 1892, Congress enacted an eight-hour day law which applied to contractors doing work on behalf of the federal government. As the District of Columbia was a creature of the federal government, the law also applied to city workers and contractors engaged in work for the city.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Constructing the first span, 8-hour day law dispute
In July 1906, a broad investigation into violation of the eight-hour day law by the Pennsylvania Bridge Company was begun by federal inspectors. The company was indicted on July 28, and plead not-guilty. On October 1, city attorneys charged the company with additional violations of the eight-hour law. Initially, John Meigs, the civil engineer in charge of the work, refused to surrender the company's accounting books to the grand jury investigating the alleged crime. The grand jurors complained to D.C. criminal court, which threatened the company with contempt of court. After a discussion between company lawyers and the city, the books were released to the grand jury. The company was again indicted, and again plead not guilty.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Constructing the first span, 8-hour day law dispute
The Pennsylvania Bridge Company admitted it had forced workers to stay on the job nine and sometimes 10 hours a day. But it offered two defenses. First, the company said that the District of Columbia had set such stringent deadlines for construction that the company had no choice but to violate the law. Second, the company said that many skilled workers would not work for less than 10 hours a day, and it had acceded to their demands. Neither argument was persuasive to the jury, and the company was found guilty. A $1,500 fine ($42,683 in 2019 dollars) was imposed on the firm.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Constructing the first span, Completion
With the bridge's foundations and abutments underway, additional federal funds were needed to complete the span and road deck. In October 1905, the D.C. Commissioners requested another $30,000 ($853,667 in 2019 dollars) from Congress. The Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee added the $30,000 appropriation, and legislation making the appropriation passed on April 17, 1906. By June 30, the end of the fiscal year, $15,000 ($426,833 in 2019 dollars) had been expended on the bridge's construction.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Constructing the first span, Completion
The bridge was poured in place. By mid-November 1906, the bridge was halfway completed, and construction officials estimated it would be finished in early 1907. This estimate proved significantly over-optimistic. On December 1, company officials declared the bridge "almost ready", except for the approaches. Yet, a month later, the bridge was still under construction. By mid-March 1907, construction was still not finished.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Constructing the first span, Completion
Finally, on June 9, contractors said the bridge would be completed on July 1, 1907. The approaches, however, were not complete. D.C. officials had only just received seven bids for their construction, and awarded the $28,000 contract ($768,300 in 2019 dollars) to Hoffman Construction. The total cost of the structure was estimated to be between $44,000 and $60,000 ($1,207,329 to $1,646,357 in 2019 dollars).


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Constructing the first span, Completion
Work on grading the approaches was still going on in October 1907. At that time, Hoffman Construction estimated they would be done by January 1, 1908. Grading was nearly complete by early December 1907.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Constructing the first span, Completion
The 16th Street Bridge was completed and ready to accept traffic on December 27, 1907. Commissioners Henry B.F. Macfarland and J.J. Morrow drove over the bridge to inaugurate it informally. The bridge was not, however, actually opened to traffic. It remained complete but closed.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Construction of the second span
By 1908, the economizing mood of Congress had lessened. D.C. officials sought permission to complete the second span of the 16th Street Bridge, and on April 28, 1908, Senator Thomas H. Carter (R-Montana) offered an amendment to the D.C. appropriations bill to authorize construction of a second span and widen the bridge to a full 60 feet (18 m). No funds were appropriated for this purpose, however. The amendment was not accepted, and the 1909 fiscal year started without them.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Construction of the second span
in December 1908, the D.C. Commissioners again asked Congress for permission to build a second span. The roadway would not be 65 feet (20 m), and the span's cost estimated at $85,000 ($2,418,722 in today's dollars). The House Appropriations Committee approved the funding request on January 6, 1909. The Subcommittee on the District of Columbia of the Senate Appropriations Committee followed suit on February 2. A House–Senate conference committee approved the funding on February 27, and President Theodore Roosevelt signed the legislation into law.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Construction of the second span
The D.C. Commissioners advertised for construction bids on May 8, 1909. Eight bids were received, with Cranford Paving Company receiving the contract. Design of the second span was nearly the identical to the first, and Captain Edward M. Markham (assistant to the engineer commissioner) and C.B. Hunt (D.C. Engineer of Highways) oversaw the construction. The estimated time for completion of the span was January 1, 1910.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Construction of the second span
As with the first span, the second span was poured in place. Although construction of the first span had occurred without any reported accidents, construction on the second span did not proceed as safely. On August 14, 1906, an African American worker had his hand crushed on the job site. Despite the accident, construction officials still estimated the time of completion at January 1.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Construction of the second span
On September 22, 1909, the city entered into a contract with sculptor A. Phimister Proctor to sculpt four reclining tigers in bronze to adorn the ends of the bridge. It is not clear how Proctor was chosen for the job. As models, Proctor studied tigers at the Bronx Zoo, and he sculpted the statues in his New York City studio. The Gorham Company cast the statues, each of which was 10 feet (3.0 m) long and weighed 1 short ton (0.91 t).


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Construction of the second span
In October 1909, the city advertised bids for lighting for the bridge. Four ornamental lampposts, in either bronze or cast iron, were required. Five bids were received in November, R. L. Watmaugh, a Washington architect, received the lighting contract. The lamps were incandescent lights which used a tungsten filament. An armored steel cable, run under the granite curb, provided power to the lights. Each light gave off 100 watts or 78.48 candela. The lamppost had three globes: A 24-inch (61 cm) central globe and two 17-inch (43 cm) side globes. The central globe was 20 feet (6.1 m) above the roadway, and each lamppost was 160 feet (49 m) apart.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Construction of the second span
A second accident occurred during the construction of the second span on March 16, 1909. Howard Hurley, a 43-year-old African American worker, died instantly when a wooden beam fell on his skull, crushing it.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Construction, Construction of the second span
As the bridge neared completion, D.C. architect R. L. Watmaugh won a contract to design and manufacture ornamental concrete balustrades for either side of the bridge. The two separate spans were linked as construction ended. Holes were cut in the top of the western wall of the first span. Steel beams were laid at intervals across the open space, the ends of each beam resting on the wall of the span. A concrete slab was then laid across the beams to create the roadway's sub-deck. The 16th Street Bridge opened to traffic on April 15, 1909. The total cost of both spans was estimated at $140,000 ($3,841,500 in today's dollars).


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Operation, Effects
A few weeks after the bridge opened, contractors completed a $30,000 ($823,179 in today's dollars) road project that extended 16th Street several blocks north of the 16th Street Bridge.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Operation, Effects
The impact of the 16th Street Bridge was substantial. The Mt. Pleasant Heights subdivision opened shortly after construction of the first span, and building lots sold briskly. The price of land along 16th Street NW skyrocketed by 500 percent from 1904 to 1910. In December 1911, the Sixteenth Street Heights subdivision opened. Developers reported that they had seen a 200 percent increase in property values since the second span opened.


16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.), Operation, Renovations
In 1990, the 16th Street Bridge underwent its first renovation. The extent of the work was not clear, but the $3 million ($5,870,861 in 2019 dollars) project took 15 months to complete. At least one lane of the bridge was closed during rush hour. The Proctor tigers were regilded during the renovation.


16th Street Limited Line
The 16th Street Limited Line, designated Route S9, is a limited stop MetroExtra bus route operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority between Silver Spring station, which is served by the Red Line of the Washington Metro, and McPherson Square station, which is served by the Orange, Blue, and Silver lines of the Washington Metro. The line operates every 5–12 minutes during rush hours, 12 minutes during weekday middays, Saturdays and Sundays between 7AM and 9PM and 15 minutes after 9PM. Trips are roughly 40–50 minutes long. This line provides additional service between Monday and Saturday along the 16th Street corridor supplementing routes S1 and S2.


16th Street Limited Line, Background
Route S9 provides daily service between Silver Spring station and McPherson Square station, running primarily on the 16th Street corridor. The route provides limited stop service supplementing the commuter route S1 and the local route S2.


16th Street Limited Line, Background
Routes S9 and 79 are the only MetroExtra routes to have full-time service with all other MetroExtra routes operating during the weekday or weekday peak periods.


16th Street Limited Line, Background
Route S9 currently operates out of Montgomery division. It originally operated out of Northern division until it was closed in 2019. The line mostly utilizes 2009 New Flyer DE40LFas (6424-6472) but often uses other buses from Montgomery.


16th Street Limited Line, History
Express lines along the 16th Street corridor were originally operated by routes S3 and S5. These routes provided service from Silver Spring station to Franklin Square. However the line was discontinued in the 1990s in favor for routes S1, S2, and S4.


16th Street Limited Line, History
In 2008, a study was released along the 16th Street corridor in order to improve the line by both WMATA and the District Department of Transportation. The corridor averages a weekday ridership of 16,000 making it the third most heavily used line in the Metrobus system, Parts of the proposal was to create a new route S3 which would be a shorten routes S1, S2, and S4 and create a limited stop route S9. According to the study, it goes for routes S3 and S9:


16th Street Limited Line, History, New Route S9
On March 30, 2009, route S9 was introduced as a new limited-stop express route between Silver Spring station and McPherson Square station along 16th Street serving only 16 stops in both directions. The new route will supplement routes S1, S2 and S4 during the weekday peak-hours only.


16th Street Limited Line, History, New Route S9
The new route also debut new hybrid buses (2009 New Flyer DE40LFAs) branded under the express scheme which were used for the S9. These new buses were painted in the 4th Generation paint scheme with the primary color being blue instead of red.


16th Street Limited Line, History, New Route S9
Due to the Red Line collision in June 2009, route S9 service was temporarily increased and operated all day during the weekdays between June 22 to June 26. Service reverted to its regular service on June 29, 2009.


16th Street Limited Line, History, New Route S9
On June 17, 2012, the express branding was merged into the MetroExtra brand. All routes that originally operated under the limited-stop express branding was merged into the MetroExtra brand in order to simplify the brands. Route S9 was converted in the fall of 2012.


16th Street Limited Line, History, New Route S9
When the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center at Silver Spring station opened, route S9 was rerouted from its terminus along Wayne Avenue to the new transit center. The S9 were assigned to Bus Bay 104 on level 1.


16th Street Limited Line, History, New Route S9
In 2016 during WMATA FY2018 budget, WMATA proposed to add midday and Saturday service to route S9 at a 20-minute frequency and increase the peak hour frequency from 7–8 minutes to 6 minutes between Silver Spring and Missouri/Colorado avenues NW and 7–8 minutes to 3 minutes from Missouri/Colorado avenues NW to Franklin Square. These changes were recommended by DDOT's 16th Street NW Transit Priority Planning Study from April 2016:


16th Street Limited Line, History, New Route S9
On June 25, 2017, midday and Saturday service was added to route S9 that will operate every 20 minutes. Also additional Route S9 limited-stop trips will be added to the schedule, including trips between 16th Street & Missouri Avenue NW and Franklin Square during morning rush hour and between Franklin Square and 16th Street & Colorado Avenue NW during afternoon rush hour.


16th Street Limited Line, History, New Route S9
In 2019, WMATA proposed to reroute route S9 to remain straight along 16th Street instead of diverting onto Alaska and Eastern Avenues NW and add service to bus stops at 16th Street & Kalmia Road NW, 16th Street & Portal Drive NW and 16th Street & Eastern Avenue NW in order to replace route S4 which is proposed to be renamed route S9. Route S9 will also have service extended to 11:00 PM and new Sunday service add to operate every 20 minutes between 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. This was due to the following according to WMATA:


16th Street Limited Line, History, New Route S9
Later in 2019, WMATA proposed to raise the MetroExtra fare from $2.00 to $3.00 and extend the hours of route S9.


16th Street Limited Line, History, New Route S9
Beginning on March 16, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, all route S9 service was reduced to operate on its Saturday schedule. However beginning on March 18, 2020, all route S9 service was suspended as WMATA shifted to operate on a modified Sunday schedule.


16th Street Limited Line, History, New Route S9
On August 23, 2020, route S9 was restored and rerouted to remain along 16th Street instead of diverting onto Alaska Avenue and Eastern Avenue in order to replace the S4. Route S9 service was also extended to 11:00 PM on Monday through Saturday and added Sunday service operating every 20 minutes between 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Service on Alaska Avenue and Eastern Avenue is still provided by route S2.


16th Street Limited Line, History, New Route S9
When Black Lives Matter Plaza opened, route S9 routing detoured along 15th Street NW at I Street resuming route on 16th Street NW at K Street going to Silver Spring and detoured along K Street NW at 16th Street resuming route on 11th Street NW at H Street going to Franklin Park when the S9 resumed service on August 23, 2020. The reroute became permanent on October 5, 2020, after the DC Council made Black Lives Matter Plaza permanent. All service on 16th Street between H and K streets was eliminated.


16th Street Limited Line, History, New Route S9
On September 5, 2021, the line was increased to operate every 12 minutes daily.


16th Street Line
The 16th Street Line, designated Route S2, is a daily bus route operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority between Silver Spring station, which is served by the Red Line of the Washington Metro, and Federal Triangle in Downtown Washington, D.C. The line operates every 10 minutes during the weekday peak hours, 15 minutes during the weekday midday and Saturday, 20 minutes on Sunday, and 30 minutes late nights. Trips are roughly 55-60 minutes long.


16th Street Line, Background
Route S2 operates daily between Federal Triangle and Silver Spring station via the 16th Street corridor providing service along 11th Street, 16th Street, I Street (to Silver Spring), K Street (to Federal Triangle), Alaska Avenue NW, Eastern Avenue NW, and Colesville Road.


16th Street Line, Background
Route S2 currently operates out of Montgomery garage with some peak hour trips operated by Bladensburg garage. The line originally operated out of Northern division but was shifted to Montgomery when Northern closed on June 23, 2019. The line often uses articulated buses due to its high passenger volume.


16th Street Line, History
Routes S2 and S4 originally operated under streetcar lines under the Washington Rapid Transit Company which operated between Federal Triangle and Silver Spring, Maryland via the 16th Street corridor. Major differences between the two routes was route S2 operated along Alaska and Eastern Avenues while route S4 remain along 16th Street. Route S4 weekend service only operated up to McPherson Square station/Franklin Square during most of its day. Route S4 was converted to a bus route in 1921 while route S2 was converted to bus in 1926.


16th Street Line, History
Routes S2 and S4 were later acquired by the Capital Transit Company and later run by buses in 1933. Later on DC Transit acquired the lines in 1956 and WMATA would later acquire the S2 and S4 in 1973.


16th Street Line, History
Later on, routes S1, S3 and S5 would be introduced to operate alongside the S2 and S4 during the weekday peak hours. Route S1 would operate to Potomac Park and 14th Street while routes S3 and S5 would operate express routing for routes S2 and S4. However the S3 and S5 would be eliminated later in the 1990s.


16th Street Line, History
Route S2 would later have trips beginning on 14th Street (in front of WMATA's Northern bus garage) and run  along 14th Street and Missouri Avenue to Federal Triangle. Select trips would also end at Carter Barron Park and Ride.


16th Street Line, History
On February 19, 1978, routes S2 and S4 were rerouted to Silver Spring station via Colesville Road connecting riders to the Red Line.


16th Street Line, History, Studies
In 2008, a study was released along the 16th Street corridor in order to improve the line by both WMATA and the District Department of Transportation. The corridor averages a weekday ridership of 16,000 making it the third most heavily used line in the Metrobus system, Parts of the proposal was to create a new route S3 which would be a shorten routes S1, S2, and S4 and create a limited stop route S9. According to the study, it goes for routes S3 and S9:


16th Street Line, History, Studies, S9
In 2013, another study was made on the 16th Street corridor with the S3 proposal coming back. Routes S1, S2 and S4 are plagued with overcrowding with passengers only getting seats early on before hitting Downtown. Route S9 only made limited stops while the S2 and S4 were serving all local stops. The S3 would operate along 16th Street and can run to 16th and Half Street in order to reduce the crowding to the S lines while running up to 16th and Colorado. Other proposals were to add articulated buses to the S1, S2, and S4.


16th Street Line, History, Articulated buses
Beginning on August 24, 2014, articulated buses will be debuted on the S2 and S4 during the weekdays in order to relieve crowding. Later in 2015, new buses were introduced in 2015 to operate along the 16th Street, 14th Street, and Georgia Avenue corridor.


16th Street Line, History, Articulated buses
Articulated buses operating on the line were suspended beginning in late 2018 until summer 2019 due to structural issues at Northern garage (where the S lines operate out of at the time). WMATA added extra buses to the S2 and S4 with standard 40 foot buses in order to revive the crowding along 16th Street. Northern garage was later closed in 2019 and the entire S line was shifted over to Montgomery garage with some S1, S2, and S4 trips operated by Bladensburg garage resuming articulated buses on the line.


16th Street Line, History, Later Changes
When the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center at Silver Spring station opened, routes S2 and S4 were rerouted from its terminus along Wayne Avenue to the new transit center. The S2 and S4 were assigned to Bus Bay 103 on level 1.


16th Street Line, History, Later Changes
In 2017, WMATA proposed to eliminate all S2 trips beginning at Northern bus garage in order to simplify the line. Also, WMATA proposed to extend all route S4 service to Federal Triangle during the weekends instead of it terminating at Franklin Square. This was due to the following:


16th Street Line, History, Later Changes
On June 25, 2017, S2 trips along 14th Street were eliminated and route S4 eliminated all weekend short trips to Franklin Square. Both routes now run the full route between Silver Spring station and Federal Triangle.


16th Street Line, History, Later Changes
In 2019, WMATA proposed to eliminate the S4 and replace the route with the S9 which will be rerouted along 16th Street instead of diverting onto Alaska and Eastern Avenues NW and add service to bus stops at 16th Street & Kalmia Road NW, 16th Street & Portal Drive NW and 16th Street & Eastern Avenue NW. This was due to the following according to WMATA:


16th Street Line, History, Later Changes
Route S2 will still operate along Alaska and Eastern Avenues while the S9 will remain along 16th Street instead of it diverting along the S2 route.


16th Street Line, History, Later Changes
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Routes S2 and S4 began operating on its Saturday supplemental schedule beginning on March 16, 2020. It however began operating on its Sunday service on March 18, 2020. Weekend service on Route S2 was then suspended and the S4 was also reduced to operate every 30 minutes.


16th Street Line, History, Later Changes
Due to the opening of Black Lives Matter Plaza, routes S2 and S4 detoured along 15th Street NW at I Street resuming route on 16th Street NW at K Street going to Silver Spring and detoured along K Street NW at 16th Street resuming route on 11th Street NW at H Street going to Federal Triangle. The reroute became permanent on October 5, 2020 after the DC Council made Black Lives Matter Plaza permanent. All service on 16th Street between H and K Streets was eliminated.


16th Street Line, History, Later Changes
On August 23, 2020, all route S4 service was eliminated and replaced by route S9 which added daily service and remained along 16th Street. Routes S2 and S9 handled most of the discontinued S4 service but route S2 service was slightly decreased to supplement route S9.


16th Street Mall
The 16th Street Mall is a pedestrian and transit mall in Denver, Colorado. The mall, 1.25 miles (2 kilometers) long, runs along 16th Street in downtown Denver, from Wewatta Street (at Union Station) to the intersection of 16th Avenue and Broadway (at Civic Center Station). The intricate granite stone sidewalks and streets were designed by architect I.M Pei to resemble the scale pattern of the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. It is home to over 300 stores, 50 restaurants, and the Denver Pavilions shopping mall.


16th Street Mall, History
Before the mall was built, downtown Denver experienced rates of bus congestion, especially on 16th and 17th streets, where more than 600 bus trips per day operated in 1970s, creating both air pollution and traffic congestion. The design of the area also discouraged pedestrian activity. The solution proposed by the downtown Denver business community and the Regional Transportation District (RTD) was to build two bus transfer stations at either end of 16th Street and connect the two with a pedestrian mall that would include a free transit shuttle bus service.


16th Street Mall, History
The final design was drawn up by noted architecture firm I. M. Pei & Partners, in collaboration with the urban design and landscape architecture firm, OLIN. Construction was funded by a $75 million grant from Federal Interstate Highway Transfer Funds and the Federal Urban Mass Transit Administration, with RTD providing a local match.


16th Street Mall, History
The mall opened in 1982 and stretched between Market Street (the site of the Market Street Station) and Broadway (the site of Civic Center Station). Light rail service was added on California and Stout in 1994, creating a third transit hub along the mall.


16th Street Mall, History
RTD purchased Union Station in 2001 and started the process of redeveloping the historic station along with 19.85 acres (8.03 ha) of land in LoDo, to create a new transit hub that would replace Market Street Station. To enable the project, the 16th Street Mall was extended from Market Street to Wynkoop Street in 2001, and to Union Station in 2002 to coincide with the completion of the new light rail spur to the station. In May 2014, RTD opened a new underground bus concourse at Union Station, and Market Street Station was closed. The land was sold to a developer for $11 million, which helped fund the redevelopment of Union Station, and the station site was transformed into a mixed-use building with residential, office, retail and restaurant space.


16th Street Mall, History, Street performing
Traditionally, street performing has been very popular on the mall, with many local folk, country, and vocal musicians gaining recognition in pop culture. Other types of performers, such as dancers, actors, impressionists, and comedians have also used the popular location as a prime venue for discovery.


16th Street Mall, MallRide
A free shuttle bus service, operated by the Regional Transportation District (RTD), is known as the MallRide. Buses stop at every intersection along the route.


16th Street Mall, MallRide
The service was introduced when the mall opened in 1982. It originally traveled between Market Street Station and Civic Center Station (16th & Broadway), two hubs for RTD buses at either end of downtown. Light rail service was added at 16th & California and 16th & Stout stations in 1994, creating a third transit hub along the mall. In May 2014, Market Street Station was closed and replaced with the Union Station Transit Center.


16th Street Mall, MallRide
Today the route continues to provide a vital connection between the A Line, B Line, C Line, E Line, W Line and the underground bus concourse at Union Station; the D Line, F Line, H Line, and L Line at 16th & California and 16th & Stout stations; and the bus concourse at Civic Center Station. RTD estimates the MallRide shuttle removes nearly a thousand daily bus trips from the streets of downtown Denver, reducing traffic congestion and improving air quality.


16th Street Mall, MallRide
As part of the Union Station Transit Center opening, RTD introduced the MetroRide service with operates parallel to the MallRide on 18th and 19th Streets, but operates much faster by making far fewer stops between Union Station and Civic Center Station.


16th Street Mall, MallRide
The MallRide has always used a fleet of right-hand-drive buses that were custom-designed and purpose-built. The right-hand-drive setup gives the operators a better view of passengers entering and exiting the buses from the right-hand side and of pedestrians who often 'wander' around the open mall and get close to the buses that can travel up to 25 mph (40 km/h). The first-generation buses which were used until 1999 were diesel-powered and front-wheel drive. The second-generation "EcoMark" buses were introduced in 1999 and were series hybrids with batteries charged by a 70 hp (52 kW) 1.6-litre compressed natural gas Ford engine. The third-generation "BYD K10MR" buses were introduced in 2016 and are battery electric.


16th Street Mall, Impact as an urban space
The Project for Public Spaces says of the Mall that it "provides the entire downtown with shuttle bus circulation and high quality pedestrian access to Union Station. However, its success as a place has to do with its edge uses, over 300 shops and 50 restaurants that line the Mall with cafés, window displays, and buskers."


16th Street Mall, Impact as an urban space
In summer 2014, and again in 2015, the Downtown Denver Partnership and Downtown Denver Business Improvement collaborated on several Meet in the Street Sunday events, rerouting the Mall Shuttle to adjacent streets and opening much of the mall to pedestrians and cyclists, and featuring various fun activities to bring people together.


16th Street Mission station
16th Street Mission station is a Bay Area Rapid Transit station located under Mission Street at 16th Street in the Mission District of San Francisco, California. Service at the station began, along with other stations between Montgomery Street Station and the Daly City station, on November 5, 1973.


16th Street Mission station, Station design
16th Street Mission station has two escalator and stair banks at the northeast and southwest corners of the intersection, which lead to a mezzanine under the intersection. A single row of faregates connects to a vaulted paid mezzanine centered over the platform area. The station has a single island platform serving two tracks. 24th Street Mission station has an identical design. Both stations have concrete reliefs by William Mitchell on the walls of their entrances, as well as colorful tilework on the mezzanine and platform levels.


16th Street Mission station, Station design
An early-2000s renovation of the southwest plaza added several additional art pieces. These include Palaza del Colibri by Victor Mario Zaballa - colorful metal railings depicting hummingbirds - and Future Roads by Jos Sances and Daniel Galvez, a screen printed tile mural around the entrance.


16th Street NW
16th Street Northwest is a prominent north–south thoroughfare in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. Part of Pierre L'Enfant's design for the city, 16th Street begins just north of the White House across Lafayette Park at H Street and continues due north in a straight line passing K Street, Scott Circle, Meridian Hill Park, Rock Creek Park, and the Walter Reed Army Medical Center before crossing Eastern Avenue into Silver Spring, Maryland, where it ends at Georgia Avenue. From K Street to the District line, 16th Street is part of the National Highway System. The Maryland portion of the street is designated Maryland State Highway 390. The entire street is 6.4 miles (10.3 km) long.


16th Street NW
The Washington meridian, a prime meridian once in use in the United States, follows the street. Part of the street is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Sixteenth Street Historic District. In June 2020, the section immediately north of the White House was renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza.


16th Street NW, Significance
Early in the city's history, many foreign countries opened their embassies on 16th Street because of its proximity to the White House. Many religious denominations followed with churches, earning the street the nickname "Church Row."


16th Street NW, Significance
These include Foundry Methodist (attended by Presidents Hayes and Clinton), First Baptist (attended by Presidents Truman and Carter), the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church which was originally named the First Colored Baptist Church of Washington, D.C. (visited twice by President Barack Obama),  St. John's ("Church of the Presidents"), All Souls Unitarian, Universalist National Memorial Church, St. John the Baptist Russian Orthodox Cathedral, founded in 1949 and built in 1958, and Third Church of Christ, Scientist, which was designed by an associate of I.M. Pei in 1971 and demolished in 2014.


16th Street NW, Significance
Shrine of the Sacred Heart is located just off of 16th Street. After most of the embassies moved to Embassy Row and other parts of the city, the churches became more prominent in 16th Street's identity. 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.


16th Street NW, Significance
The AFL-CIO, American Trucking Association, National Education Association, American Chemical Society, National Geographic Society, and Benjamin Franklin University have prominent buildings on 16th Street. The National Rifle Association was until the late 1990s headquartered on the street.


16th Street NW, Significance
The northern and central portions of 16th Street — and the Crestwood neighborhood, in particular — have for a half century been the chosen neighborhood of accomplished African Americans in Washington. Known colloquially as "The Gold Coast", these sections of 16th Street are lined with early 20th-century Tudor mansions.


16th Street NW, Significance
As 16th Street continues north through the Shepherd Park neighborhood, the street passes Tudor-style house at 7700 16th Street NW, the scene of a notorious crime, and several houses of worship including the Ohev Sholom synagogue and historic Tiffereth Israel synagogue, across the street from one another, and the Washington Ethical Society.


16th Street NW, Significance
The street's proximity to Rock Creek Park and importance as a thoroughfare has made it a natural dividing boundary for Washington neighborhoods. Outside of the downtown area, no neighborhood in the city falls on both sides of 16th Street; the neighborhoods that surround it have 16th as either their eastern or their western boundary. For many years, the wide street was the de facto "boundary" between Caucasian and African-American neighborhoods of the city, especially in the tense years after the 1968 race riots.


16th Street NW, Significance
A pair of similarly named streets, 16th Street Northeast and 16th Street Southeast, are three miles (5 km) away in the northeast and southeast quadrants of Washington. They are contiguous with each other and parallel to 16th Street NW. There is no 16th Street Southwest, as this space is occupied by the National Mall and the Washington Channel.


16th Street NW, 16th Street World War I Memorial Trees
In 1920, more than 500 trees were planted along 16th Street between Alaska Avenue and Varnum Street to honor fallen soldiers from World War I. Today, the 16th Street World War I Memorial Trees and their corresponding markers have largely been lost to history.


16th Street NW, Ronald Reagan Boulevard 2005 proposal
In July 2005, just before Congress's summer recess, Texas Republican congressman Henry Bonilla quietly introduced resolution   July 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine to rename 16th Street NW "Ronald Reagan Boulevard" in honor of the former president of the United States. Mayor Anthony A. Williams objected on the grounds that the proposal changes Pierre L'Enfant's 1791 design for the city and would have 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.


16th Street NW, Black Lives Matter mural and renaming
On June 5, 2020, during the series of George Floyd protests, riots and vandalism that were occurring in Washington D.C., the DC Public Works Department painted the words "Black Lives Matter" in 35-foot yellow capital letters on 16th Street NW near the White House and Lafayette Square, with the assistance of the MuralsDC program of the D.C. Department of Public Works. The D.C. flag accompanies the text. Later that day Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that part of the street outside of the White House had been ceremonially renamed to Black Lives Matter Plaza.


16th Street NW, Black Lives Matter mural and renaming
On Saturday, June 6, 2020, activists altered the mural. The stars were removed from the D.C. flag, changing it to an equals sign, and the words "defund the police" were added, resulting in the mural reading "Black Lives Matter = Defund the Police".


16th Street World War I Memorial Trees
The World War I 16th Street Memorial Trees, honoring the lives of District of Columbia residents lost in World War I, is located on 16th Street NW in Washington, D.C. between Alaska Avenue and Varnum Street. It originally consisted of more than 500 trees and markers representing the D.C. men and women who died in conflict.


16th Street World War I Memorial Trees, Dedication
The 16th Street Memorial Trees were a gift to the city from the D.C. department of the American Legion. Norway Maple trees were planted approximately 40 feet apart along the 2.5-mile stretch of 16th Street NW between Alaska Avenue and Varnum Street. Each tree was accompanied by a small concrete marker with a bronze plate. The markers were approximately 6-8" tall, with a sloping top and the name of the deceased engraved on a bronze plate. The plates bore the dead soldier's name, their branch of service and the words "Memorial Tree, World War, 1917-18." The 507 markers were arranged in alphabetical order, starting with Edward D. Adams in the north and ending with Randolph T. Zane to the south. At least 6 of the markers are known to have been dedicated to women who perished in the war.


16th Street World War I Memorial Trees, Dedication
The memorial was dedicated on Sunday, May 30, 1920 at 4:00pm. The ceremony consisted of a parade by the American Legion and other veteran organizations, with music performed by the United States Marine Band. Assistant Secretary of War Benedict Crowell and District Commissioner Louis Brownlow made brief addresses and approximately 10,000 District residents were in attendance.


16th Street World War I Memorial Trees, Early Decades and Later Neglect
By 1922 the total number of trees comprising the memorial had increased to 533. In the years following the dedication and into the 1950s, the trees were decorated and the street was a gathering point for Memorial Day celebrations and remembrances. The closely planted tree canopy created an attractive passage into downtown Washington, coinciding with active development along 16th Street in the 1920s and 30s.


16th Street World War I Memorial Trees, Early Decades and Later Neglect
However, it was not long before the markers and trees began to fall victim to automobile accidents, theft, unintentional damage due to utility and landscape maintenance, and general indifference. The American Legion set up slot machines in federal buildings to fund maintenance of the memorials, but a legal ruling in the 1950s banned such machines. The Legion's budget priorities fell elsewhere in subsequent decades, on projects such as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the World War II Memorial, and little attention was paid to the World War I memorial trees and markers.


16th Street World War I Memorial Trees, Early Decades and Later Neglect
As of 1982, only about three dozen trees remained, many of them not originals but saplings planted as replacements for lost trees. While several dozen concrete columns were still present, only one bronze marker could be located.


16th Street World War I Memorial Trees, Early Decades and Later Neglect
By 2000, the remaining concrete markers were largely flush with the earth and obscured by grass, and very few bronze markers remained.


16th Street World War I Memorial Trees, Present Day
As of 2010 only two bronze markers remained, those of Leo Joseph and Private John Kendall. A ceremonial resolution was introduced by Phil Mendelson and passed by the Council of the District of Columbia on May 4, 2010, recognizing the 90th Anniversary of the memorial's dedication and calling upon stakeholders to rededicate the memorial on its centennial, May 31, 2020.


16th Street station (BMT Fifth Avenue Line)
16th Street was a station on the demolished section of the BMT Fifth Avenue Line in Brooklyn, New York City. It was served by trains of the BMT Culver Line and BMT Fifth Avenue Line and had 2 tracks and 1 island platform. The station was built on August 15, 1889, at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 16th Street, and had a connection to the 15th Street Line trolleys. The next stop to the north was Ninth Street. The next stop to the south was 20th Street. It closed on May 31, 1940.


16th Street station (Oakland)
16th Street station (Oakland Central) is an abandoned Southern Pacific Railroad station in the Prescott neighborhood of Oakland, California, United States. The Beaux-Arts building was designed by architect Jarvis Hunt, a preeminent railroad station architect, and opened in 1912. The station has not been served by trains since 1994.


16th Street station (Oakland), History, Southern Pacific
The original 16th Street depot was a smaller wood structure, built when the tracks were on the shoreline of San Francisco Bay. Later the shoreline was filled and now lies nearly a mile west. It was replaced in 1912 by a Beaux-Arts building designed by architect Jarvis Hunt.


16th Street station (Oakland), History, Southern Pacific
For decades the 16th Street station was the main Oakland station for Southern Pacific (SP) through trains, almost entirely replacing the 7th Street station. It was a companion (or "city station") for Oakland Pier, two miles away, where passengers could board ferries to San Francisco. (After 1958, the ferries were replaced by buses from 16th Street station to the SP's Third and Townsend Depot). The elevated platforms were used for the SP-owned East Bay Electric Lines commuter service (renamed Interurban Electric Railway or IER in 1938).


16th Street station (Oakland), History, Southern Pacific
IER trains from Berkeley no longer stopped at 16th Street when railroad service over the Bay Bridge opened in January 15, 1939, as the junction from those lines to the bridge was north of the station. When the IER folded in July 1941, portions of some lines were sold to the competing Key System for use by their transbay trains; however, the Key System only served the station with a surface streetcar line on 16th Street, and did not use the elevated platforms.


16th Street station (Oakland), History, Southern Pacific
Major long distance trains from the station included the Oakland Lark (night train to Los Angeles) and the City of San Francisco (to Chicago).


16th Street station (Oakland), History, Amtrak and replacement
The station also served as the main rail link for points north and east of the Bay Area. San Francisco-area passengers boarded ferries to Oakland Pier, and after 1958 boarded buses to 16th Street. Amtrak took over intercity passenger rail services in 1971, and decided to consolidate most Bay Area service in Oakland, leaving San Francisco as one of the largest cities without direct intercity rail service.


16th Street station (Oakland), History, Amtrak and replacement
The station was severely damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, but continued serving trains at an adjacent building. Capitols and San Joaquins trains were shifted to the new Emeryville station on August 13, 1993, but long-distance trains continued to use Oakland Central while track work was completed at Emeryville. The Coast Starlight and California Zephyr began stopping at Emeryville on August 5, 1994; they last stopped at Oakland 16th St. on August 21. This left Emeryville as the only Oakland-area stop for Amtrak until the new Oakland – Jack London Square station opened on May 22, 1995.


16th Street station (Oakland), History, Amtrak and replacement
Emeryville largely replaced 16th Street station as the connection point for Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach across the bay in San Francisco (for passengers heading northbound towards Seattle or eastbound towards Chicago, or passengers arriving from the north and east), as Emeryville is closer to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge than Oakland-Jack London Square. However, Jack London Square serves as the San Francisco connection for the Coast Starlight,(for southbound passengers from San Francisco and northbound passengers heading to San Francisco).


16th Street station (Oakland), History, Amtrak and replacement
In the mid 1990s, the adjacent railroad tracks were moved west during the construction of Interstate 880 (to replace the earthquake-destroyed Cypress Street Viaduct), which isolated the station from the tracks. The station buildings are largely intact, including the interlocking tower and ironwork elevated platforms. The station was purchased in 2005 by BUILD, an affiliate of BRIDGE Housing, and is being restored as part of a local redevelopment project. In 2015, the station was used to stage a local opera company's production of Lulu. As of 2021, the station is being used as a rented space for private events.


16th Street station (Oakland), In media
The station was used in films including Chu Chu and the Philly Flash, Funny Lady (as Cleveland station), RENT, and Hemingway & Gellhorn (as a stand-in for the Hotel Florida). Mumford & Sons filmed their music video for "Babel" in the station.


16th Street station (Sacramento)
16th Street is a side platformed Sacramento RT Light Rail station in Downtown Sacramento, California, United States. The station was opened on September 5, 1987, and is operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit District. Located at 16th Street between Q and R Streets (in an alley), it is served by the Gold and Blue Lines, and is the easternmost station where transfers can be made between both rail lines. With a daily average of 7,100 riders, the 16th Street station is the busiest in the RT light rail system.


16th Street–Woodside station
16th Street–Woodside is a light rail station that is currently under construction in the Woodside neighborhood of Silver Spring, Maryland. It will be part of the Purple Line in Maryland. The station will be located at 16th Street.


16th Street–Woodside station, History
The 16th Street–Woodside station is expected to open to the public by 2027, or sooner.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement
The 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement was held from 26 to 31 August 2012 in Tehran, Iran. The summit was attended by leaders of 120 countries, including 24 presidents, 3 kings, 8 prime ministers and 50 foreign ministers.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement
The summit's framework was the "Final Document" adopted during the Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement Coordinating Bureau which was held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, from 7 to 10 May. The Foreign Ministry also said that the agenda would primarily consist of issues pertaining to nuclear disarmament, human rights and regional issues. Iran also intended to draw up a new peace resolution aiming to resolve the Syrian civil war.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement
The summit consisted of two preceding events: a "Senior Officials Meeting" on 26 and 27 August 2012, and a "Ministerial Meeting" on 28 and 29 August 2012. The leaders summit took place on 30 and 31 August. Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi officially handed the presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, during the inaugural ceremony of Leaders' Meeting. Iran will hold the NAM presidency for four years until the 17th summit in Venezuela in 2016.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Overview
As of August 2012, the organisation consists of 120 member states, including the non-UN member state of Palestine, and 21 other observer countries. The countries of the Non-Aligned Movement represent nearly two-thirds of the United Nations' members and contain 55% of the world's population.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Overview
Since the Non-Aligned Movement was formed in an attempt not to take sides during the Cold War, it has sought to seek a new direction since the fall of the Soviet Union. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, a founding member, its membership was suspended in 1992 at the regular ministerial meeting held in New York during the regular annual session of the United Nations General Assembly.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Organization
The summit was scheduled to be held at Kish Island but it was transferred to Tehran in 2010. According to Vice President Ali Saeedlou, who is the head of the organising committee, up to 7,000 participants – including delegations and the media – are expected to attend the summit. To prepare for the meeting and reduce traffic and air pollution, a five-day public holiday in Tehran has been called for the duration of the summit. Parts of Tehran have been beautified with lamp posts and freshly painted road markings.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Organization
Roads around the summit venue will be closed to all but official vehicles. Iran's deputy police chief Ahmad Reza Radan stated "The police are on full alert during the Non-Aligned Movement summit." In addition, to raise security of the event, visa-free entry to Iran normally offered to nationals from several countries has been temporarily suspended.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Organization
The "Senior Officials Meeting" and "Ministerial Meeting" convened at the "IRIB International Conference Center" (IICC). The summit was held at "Tehran's Summit Conference Hall".


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Participants
A spokesman of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that 24 presidents, 3 kings, 8 vice presidents, 8 prime ministers, 50 foreign ministers attended at the summit. By the first day of the summit, 110 delegations arrived Tehran.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Participants
Ali Akbar Salehi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, announced that the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, would attend the conference. He also invited leaders of Russia, Turkey and Brazil to the summit. Mohamed Morsi, ex-president of NAM and the Egyptian President, also announced that he would participate in the summit. He was the first leader of his country to visit Iran since the Islamic revolution.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Participants
Iran reportedly cancelled an invitation to Saudi Arabia to attend the summit. However, it was later announced that Abdulaziz bin Abdullah, Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister, would participate in the summit upon the invitation of Saudi Arabia.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Pre-summit responses
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad commented on the significance of the summit in Iran: "Certain NAM states too have upheld sanctions against Iran which is a totally unwise move because the sanctions are not on part of the UN, rather unilaterally levelled by the US The U.S. can issue any sort of sanctions it wants against Iran but there is no reason other countries to follow suit."


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Pre-summit responses
An Iranian government official also commented on the summit, reportedly saying that "the NAM summit is the best opportunity to confront the sanctions." He added that "in meetings with the officials of [fellow] member states, we should brief them on the illegality of these sanctions and talk to them to make these sanctions ineffective."


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Agenda
The base of the summit's negotiations' framework is the "Final Document" adopted during the Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement Coordinating Bureau which was held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, from 7 to 10 May 2012.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Agenda
The Foreign Ministry also said that the agenda would primarily consist of issues pertaining to nuclear disarmament, human rights and regional issues. Iran also intended to draw up a new peace resolution aiming to resolve the Syrian civil war.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Agenda
Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi opened the first meeting and spoke of NAM's original goal: "We believe that the timetable for ultimate removal of nuclear weapons by 2025, which was proposed by NAM, will only be realised if we follow it up decisively." At the opening of the ministerial meeting Khamenei said: "The UN Security Council has an irrational, unjust and utterly undemocratic structure, and this is an overt dictatorship. The control room of the world (the Security Council) is under the control of the dictatorship of some Western countries." Al Jazeera interpreted Moon's reaction as "nonplussed."


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Agenda, Senior Officials Meeting
The Senior Officials Meeting was held on 26 and 27 August 2012. The officials reviewed the Sharm el-Sheikh's document and issued a draft document which should be endorsed by the ministerial meetings.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Agenda, Senior Officials Meeting
Iran's deputy foreign minister, Mohammad Mehdi Akhondzadeh, who is also secretary general of the senior officials meeting, read parts of the draft document at the press conference and mentioned some of the main points including rejection of all forms of terrorism, as well as all form of occupation including occupation of the Palestinian territories by Israel, requesting weapons of mass destruction and nuclear weapon disarmament, condemning unilateral sanctions and replacing unipolar management of international politics with collective management. According to Akhundzadeh, the draft urges for a Middle East free from nuclear weapons and emphasizes "inalienable" right of all NAM member states for the peaceful use of nuclear energy, envisaged by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Agenda, Ministerial Meeting
The Ministerial Meeting with presence of foreign ministers of NAM countries was held on 28 and 29 August 2012. Egypt's Deputy Foreign Minister, Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy, handed the presidency of the ministerial meeting for three years at the opening ceremony of the meeting. After opening remark of Ali Akbar Salehi and listening to the report of Senior Officials Meeting which was delivered by Mohammad Mehdi Akhondzadeh, the ministers starts to review the document.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Agenda, Ministerial Meeting
After preparation of the final document for the leaders' summit, Ali Akbar Salehi participated in a press conference and emphasized on the four main topics that were discussed at the meeting including establishment a task force in New York to pursue Palestine's membership in the United Nations and act against Israel's "illegal" measures against Palestinians, finding solution for Syrian crisis with United Nations cooperation, acting against monopolizing of the financial mechanisms in the world by using US dollar and finally establishment of a work group in New York to study the mechanisms of plural management of the world.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Agenda, Leaders' Summit
On 30 August, the summit was inaugurated by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Then the Egyptian President, Mohammad Morsi, as the chair of the 15th summit declared opening of the 16th summit and presented the report of NAM's chairmanship during the past three years. Morsi officially handed the presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement to the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Agenda, Leaders' Summit
After Morsi, President of the Sixty-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Chair of the Group of 77 Mourad Benmehidi, host President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh delivered their opening speeches. Khamenei later commented that "the Non-Aligned Movement definitely has more political right than the US, NATO or some European countries to intervene in the Syrian issue," but "did not elaborate on what kind of role the group should have".


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Agenda, Leaders' Summit
Inaugurating the summit, Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei condemned the use of nuclear and chemical weapons as an "unforgivable sin", and called for "Middle East Free from Nuclear Weapons". Khamenei argued that it was ironic for the US to oppose nuclear proliferation while, according to Khamenei, it possessed the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons and had used them in the past. He also accused the US and its Western allies of providing "the usurper Zionist regime" with nuclear weapons.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Agenda, Leaders' Summit
A day after U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asked Khamenei to lower his rhetoric on Israel, Khamanei accused "the Zionist regime" of "waging disastrous wars" and "organizing state terror" throughout the world, and said the media that it and the West own repeat the "lie" that the Palestinians are "terrorists." He criticized the UN Security Council as "unjust" and "undemocratic" and accused the US of abusing it. Other Iranian officials stated that the Security Council had more power than the General Assembly and criticized the veto rights of its permanent members.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Agenda, Leaders' Summit
Khamenei accused the United States of protecting the interests of the Western countries in the name of "human rights", interfering militarily in other countries in the name of "democracy", and targeting civilians in the name of "combating terrorism." Khamenei also proposed improving the "political productivity" of the Non-Aligned Movement in global governance and called for a "historic document", an active secretariat, and administrative tools to achieve this. He also called for economic cooperation and for cultural relationships between NAM members.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Agenda, Leaders' Summit
Following Khamenei's remarks, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who was described as visibly irritated, denounced Iran's position towards Israel in his opening speech. "I strongly reject threats by any member state to destroy another or outrageous attempts to deny historical facts, such as the Holocaust," he said. "Claiming that another UN Member State, Israel, does not have the right to exist, or describing it in racist terms, is not only utterly wrong but undermines the very principles we have all pledged to uphold."


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Agenda, Leaders' Summit
While describing Iran's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency as "constructive and useful," Ban Ki-moon demanded that Iran boost global confidence in its nuclear program by "fully complying with the relevant (UN) Security Council resolutions and thoroughly cooperating with the IAEA." Ahmadinejad also declares a one minute of silence in honor of the late Iranian president and prime minister, Mohammad-Ali Rajai and Mohammad-Javad Bahonar that were assassinated in same day in 1981.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Agenda, Leaders' Summit
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi denounced the Syrian government, an ally of Iran, calling it "oppressive" and said that it was an "ethical duty" to support the Syrian revolt against the Bashar al-Assad government. Walid al-Moallem, Syrian foreign minister, walked out in protest, although Mahmoud Ahmadinejad remained seated beside Morsi. Morsi called for a peaceful transition to freedom and democracy in Syria. Like Iran, Morsi also called for reform in the structure of the UN Security Council. Morsi echoed Iranian calls for a nuclear-free Middle East, and criticized Israel for refusing to join the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Morsi and Iran also both supported the Palestinian bid for a seat at the UN. At the summit Egypt's Mohammed Morsi also handed over the leadership of the body to Iran for the next three years.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Agenda, Leaders' Summit
Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, called for a peaceful resolution of the crisis in Syria and pledged support for the Palestinian movement. He also called for reform in the UN Security Council, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The summit also drew up a draft resolution on ending the Syrian conflict.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Agenda, Leaders' Summit
The summit's final declaration ratified on 31 August by the 120 members of NAM, emphasizes on the right of all countries to develop and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and notably singles out Iran. In addition, it condemns unilateral sanctions, supports creation of a Palestinian state, advocates nuclear disarmament, human rights free from political agendas and opposition to racism and "Islamophobia". But due to lack of consensus among member states it did not mention to Syria's civil war.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Agenda, Leaders' Summit
At the end of the summit, Venezuela was declared as the host of the 17th summit with the consensus of the member states.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Agenda, Bilateral meetings
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are likely to meet on the margins of the summit to discuss recent developments in India–Pakistan relations and in the region. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon intends to talk with the Iranian leaders about issues such as Iran's nuclear programme, terrorism, human rights and the crisis in Syria.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Agenda, Bilateral meetings
India, Iran and Afghanistan agreed to set up a joint working group to discuss the development of the strategically important Chahbahar port in Iran.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Agenda, Bilateral meetings
At two separate meetings with Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, spokesman Martin Nesirky said that United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a stop to their threats against Israel, and said that "their verbal attacks on Israel were offensive, inflammatory, and unacceptable." Ban also said that Iran needed to take "concrete steps to address the concerns of the International Atomic Energy Agency and prove to the world its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes." He further urged Iran to use its influence to help end the Syrian Civil War. Human rights were also discussed.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Agenda, Bilateral meetings
In addition, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon criticised Iran for alleged "serious concerns on the human rights abuses and violation[s]" and urged Iran to cooperate with the United Nations to improve its human rights record. Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, who sat next to Ban, was reported by Ynet as having frowned at the remarks. He also met Syria's PM Wael al-Halaqi and Foreign Minister Walid Muallem and later told a news conference about the meeting that in regards to the violence "the primary responsibility resting on the government to halt its use of heavy weapons. [


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Agenda, Bilateral meetings
He] demands for all sides to cease all forms of violence. What is important at this time is that all the parties must stop the violence. All those actors who may be providing arms to both sides...must stop." He further mentioned that he had called on Iran to support his call "and I have a strong assurance from Iran that it will do so." He also met the new UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Reactions and assessments
Agence France-Presse claimed that Ban Ki-moon's attacks on Iran and Morsi's support for the Syrian opposition upset Iran's goal of showing the summit as a diplomatic victory for Iran against Western attempts to isolate Iran. A Xinhua commentary qualified the summit as an "important" diplomatic "accomplishment from Iran", having hosted "leaders and delegates of over 100 countries". The Anti- Defamation League slammed what they called the hate speech of Ayatollah Khamanei's opening remarks, in which he rejected Israel's legitimacy, accused "ferocious Zionist wolves" of committing daily acts of murder around the world, and perpetuated an old anti-Semitic myth of a "Zionist-controlled" media.


16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Other events
In an effort for Iran to prove that its nuclear programme is peaceful, the Foreign Ministry of Iran declared that Iran would arrange for officials from the Non-Aligned Movement to visit its nuclear facilities. In addition, the mangled remains of three cars in which Iranian nuclear scientists were assassinated stands outside of the event venue, as part of an Iranian campaign to demonstrate that Iran has been a victim of terrorism, which Iran has accused the West as being responsible for.