Designing the Capitol

“The city itself would be the American Paris, but better than Paris-a Paris reborn as a republican Rome, a seat of wisdom and power on display for the rest of the world” (14).

The Book

In Grand Avenues: The Story of the French Visionary Who Designed Washington, DC, author Scott W. Berg introduces the reader to Pierre (later changed to Peter) Charles L’Enfant. L’Enfant was born outside Paris and educated at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture before sailing to America to fight in the American Revolution. After the Revolution, America became L’Enfant’s adopted country. He redesigned the temporary seat of government-Federal Hall in New York, before taking on the task of a permanent seat of government.

Berg walks the reader through the decision process regarding a permanent location for the young nation’s capitol. In July of 1790 one hundred square miles on the Potomac River were set aside. L’Enfant surveyed the land while he began to design the layout of the city. His plan was basically “a grid overlaid with a system of public squares linked by radiating diagonal avenues” (102). Berg unpacks the thought and effort L’Enfant put into his plan for Washington, DC. For example, in Versailles, the center was the king’s bedroom. In Washington, the center was the Capitol Building.

The design and building process was not easy. L’Enfant could be a difficult person to work with and often found himself at odds with the commissioners, surveyors, and even Thomas Jefferson. He resigned from the project in 1792. Berg transports the reader to the year 1900 when L’Enfant’s design was finally realized by a team of American architects. This focus on the city plan, as a whole, came after 100 years of focus on the White House and Capitol Building. 

The Place

The Capitol Building was the center of L’Enfant’s plan for the new democracy. The diagonal streets would shoot out like wheels on a spoke and the four grids (Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest) would come together. The view from the Capitol Building would be of the mighty Potomac River.

Today, the Capitol Building is roughly the center of Washington, DC. There is a star drawn onto the floor that shows the center of the city. Close by the star is a scale model of the city; L’Enfant’s plan is evident from this bird’s eye view. You can no longer see the Potomac because of an expansion of the Potomac and the Washington monument. But, there is still a lot to experience within the Capitol grounds. Visitors must have a pass for a tour of the Capitol; tickets can be obtained through your US Representative or Senator. Included in the tour are Statutory Hall where many states are represented by historic figures, the Rotunda with paintings of significant moments in American history, and the old Supreme Court. An additional pass is needed to sit in the gallery of the House of Representatives or the Senate. I highly recommend including this in your visit, it is a rare chance to see the legislative process in person.