L'Enfant Plan of the City of Washington, District of Columbia
About this property
The L'Enfant Plan is an urban plan for Washington, D.C. designed by French artist and engineer Pierre Charles L'Enfant in 1791. It is regarded as a landmark in urban design and has inspired plans for other world capitals such as Brasília, New Delhi, and Canberra. In the United States, plans for Detroit, Indianapolis, and Sacramento took inspiration from the plan. L'Enfant was a French artist and engineer who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. In 1789, discussions were underway regarding a new federal capital city for the United States, and L'Enfant wrote to President Washington asking to be commissioned to plan the city. However, any decision on the capital was put on hold until July 1790 when Congress passed the Residence Act. The legislation specified that the new capital should be situated on the Potomac River, at some location between the Eastern Branch (the Anacostia River) and the Conococheague Creek near Hagerstown, Maryland. The Residence Act gave authority to President Washington to appoint three commissioners to oversee the survey of the federal district and provide public buildings to accommodate the Federal government in 1800. In 1791, Washington appointed L'Enfant to plan the new federal city, under the supervision of three commissioners whom Washington had earlier appointed to oversee the planning and development of the territory that became the District of Columbia. Included in the new district were the riverport towns of Georgetown (formerly in Montgomery County, Maryland) and Alexandria, Virginia. Thomas Jefferson, who was serving as Washington's secretary of state, worked with Washington in the overall planning of the nation's capital. Jefferson sent L'Enfant a letter outlining his task, which was to provide a drawing of suitable sites for the federal city and the public buildings. Jefferson had modest ideas for the capital. However, L'Enfant saw the task as far more grandiose, believing that he was also devising the city plan and designing the buildings. L'Enfant arrived in Georgetown on March 9, 1791, and began his work from Suter's Fountain Inn. Washington arrived on March 28 to meet with L'Enfant and the commissioners for several days. L'Enfant was also provided a roll of maps by Jefferson depicting Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Strasbourg, Paris, Orléans, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Turin, and Milan. (A common misconception is that of these, L'Enfant was chiefly inspired by the grand boulevards and urban fabric of Paris. In reality, the Haussman Plan, which created the version of the city that is known today, was not enacted until 1853.) On June 22, L'Enfant presented his first plan for the federal city to the president. On August 19, he appended a new map to a letter that he sent to the president. Washington retained a copy of one of L'Enfant's plans, showed it to the Congress, and later gave it to the three commissioners. In November 1791, L'Enfant secured the lease of quarries at Wigginton Island and southeast along Aquia Creek to supply well-regarded Aquia Creek sandstone for the foundation of the Congress House.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was L'Enfant Plan of the City of Washington, District of Columbia listed on the National Register?
L'Enfant Plan of the City of Washington, District of Columbia was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 23, 1997.
What type of historic resource is L'Enfant Plan of the City of Washington, District of Columbia?
L'Enfant Plan of the City of Washington, District of Columbia is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for L'Enfant Plan of the City of Washington, District of Columbia?
The period of significance for L'Enfant Plan of the City of Washington, District of Columbia is recorded as the industrial era.
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