Original Plan for Washington, D.C.

The original plan for the city of Washington, D.C., reproduced here with digital enhancement, was created by French architect Pierre Charles L'Enfant and presented to President George Washington in the summer of 1791. The pencilled notes throughout the document are editorial corrections that Thomas Jefferson made prior to sending it to an engraver.

Washington and Jefferson selected L'Enfant to design the new nation's capital on the banks of the Potomac River. In his design of the city, L'Enfant attempted to symbolize the recently created United States of America. He laid out broad diagonal avenues and named them after the states. The most prominent avenues—such as Pennsylvania Avenue, which links the Capitol and the White House—were named after states that played important roles in establishing the new nation. L'Enfant's plan also provided for parks and open spaces, many of which were created at the intersections of the diagonal avenues. Although he was unceremoniously dismissed during the construction of the city in 1792, L'Enfant's map of Washington, D.C. is recognized today as a landmark in urban planning and very closely reflects the appearance of the modern capital city.

Appears in these articles:

Washington, D.C.; United States (Government); District of Columbia; L’Enfant, Pierre Charles; National Capital Parks

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