A bright red, 12-foot-tall sculpture weighing 3,500 pounds is now on display at Mamie “Peanut” Johnson Plaza in NoMa, marking the latest transformation of a Washington, D.C. intersection once defined by fast food and traffic snarls. Mayor Bowser unveiled the newly installed piece, titled Curve, at the plaza on Tuesday. The work honors Johnson, who was the first woman to pitch in the Negro Leagues.
Mayor Bowser announced the unveiling in a Facebook livestream posted Tuesday morning, writing that she was there to unveil the newly installed sculpture at the plaza named for Johnson, according to Mayor Bowser on Facebook. The sculpture itself sits at the intersection of Florida Avenue NE, New York Avenue NE and First Street NE, according to dcnewsnow.com.
Curve was created by D.C. artist Rania Hassan, who began the design by drawing the lines and stitching around a baseball, the station reports. The sculpture was inspired by Johnson’s curveball pitch, and its design also nods to her second career as a nurse at D.C.’s Sibley Hospital. Its sweeping form evokes the motion of a curveball and the stitching of a baseball, while its intertwined elements reference nursing and medicine, according to Popville’s writeup of the piece.
From Dave Thomas Circle to a Tribute Plaza
The plaza sits on ground with a very different history. It was formerly known as Dave Thomas Circle and was once home to a Wendy’s restaurant, the station’s report notes. That circle was demolished in 2023, clearing the way for a redesign that created three new public spaces now forming Mamie “Peanut” Johnson Plaza.
The intersection overhaul did more than make room for public art. The new design restored two-way traffic on Florida Avenue and First Street NE and added protected bicycle and pedestrian connections, per the same account. The project was delivered through a partnership between DDOT, the NoMa Business Improvement District, and the NoMa Parks Foundation, according to SWA Group, the landscape architecture firm behind the plaza’s design.
Early Safety Numbers at the Reworked Intersection
The redesigned intersection opened in June 2025, and early crash data suggests the changes have made a dent in collisions at a site long known for chaotic traffic patterns. SWA Group reports that crash numbers were already down 40% from pre-construction conditions in the first five months of 2025.
More granular monthly figures tell a similar story. Just four crashes were reported to MPD in July, compared with a 16-year July average of 10.7, according to Greater Greater Washington. As of September 29, seven crashes had been reported, compared with a 16-year September average of 12.1, the outlet found.
Funding and the Woman Behind the Name
Curve was funded through a Public Art Building Communities grant from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Popville reports. The grant program helped bring Hassan’s design, rooted in the geometry of a baseball and a pitcher’s curveball, to life at full scale in the heart of NoMa.
The plaza’s namesake remains the emotional center of the project. Mamie “Peanut” Johnson broke ground as the first woman to pitch in the Negro Leagues before going on to a long nursing career in Washington, a dual legacy that Hassan’s sculpture was designed to capture in a single sweeping red form now greeting drivers and cyclists at one of NoMa’s busiest corners.
