Pierre Charles L'Enfant
Encyclopedia
Pierre Charles L'Enfant (pjɛʁ ʃaʁl lɑ̃fɑ̃; 1754–1825) was a French
-born American
architect
and civil engineer
best known for designing the layout of the streets of Washington, D.C.
.
, Eure et Loire, the third child and second son of Marie Charlotte L'Enfant (aged 25 and the daughter of a minor marine official at court) and Pierre L'Enfant
(1704–1787), a painter with a good reputation in the service of King Louis XV
. In 1758, his brother Pierre Joseph died at the age of six, leaving him the eldest son. He studied at the Royal Academy in the Louvre
before enrolling to fight in the American Revolution
.
in the American colonies
. He arrived in 1777 at the age of 23, serving as a military engineer
in the Continental Army
with Major General
Lafayette. Despite his aristocratic origins, L'Enfant closely identified with the United States, adopting the name Peter. He was wounded at the Siege of Savannah
in 1779, but recovered and served in General George Washington
's staff as a Captain of Engineers for the remainder of the Revolutionary War
. During the war, L'Enfant was with George Washington at Valley Forge
. While there, Marquis de Lafayette commissioned L'Enfant to paint a portrait of Washington. L'Enfant was promoted by brevet
to Major of Engineers on May 2, 1783 in recognition of his service to American liberty. After the war, L'Enfant designed the badge of the Society of the Cincinnati
, shaped as an eagle, at the request of Washington, and was sent to France to give the badges to French officers who fought in the war.
firm in New York City
. He achieved some fame as an architect
by redesigning the City Hall in New York for the First Congress in Federal Hall
. He also designed coins, medals, furniture and houses of the wealthy, and he was a friend of Alexander Hamilton
.
In 1789, when discussions were underway regarding a new federal capital city for the United States
, 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, which was the result of a compromise brokered by Alexander Hamilton
and Thomas Jefferson
, specified the new capital be situated on the Potomac River
, at some location between the Eastern Branch (the Anacostia River
) and the Connogochegue
, near Hagerstown, Maryland
. The Residence Act gave authority to President Washington to appoint three commissioners to oversee the survey of the federal district and "according to such Plans, as the President shall approve," provide public buildings to accommodate the Federal government in 1800.
President George Washington appointed L'Enfant in 1791 to design the new capital city (later named the City of Washington
) under the supervision of three Commissioners, whom Washington had appointed to oversee the planning and development of the ten-mile square of federal territory that would later become the District of Columbia
. Thomas Jefferson
, who worked alongside President Washington in overseeing the plans for the capital, 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. Though Jefferson had modest ideas for the Capital, L'Enfant saw the task as far more grandiose, believing he was not only locating the capital, but also included 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. On June 22, L'Enfant presented his first plan for the federal city to President Washington. On August 19, he appended a new map to a letter that he sent to the President.
President Washington retained one of L'Enfant's plans, showed it to Congress, and later gave it to the three Commissioners. The U.S. Library of Congress
now holds both the plan that Washington apparently gave to the Commissioners and an undated anonymous survey map that the Library considers L'Enfant to have drawn before August 19, 1791. The survey map may be one that L'Enfant appended to his August 19 letter to the President.
L'Enfant's "Plan of the city intended for the permanent seat of the government of the United States..." encompassed an area bounded by the Potomac River, the Eastern Branch, the base of the escarpment
of the Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line
, and Rock Creek
. His plan specified locations for the "Congress house" (the Capitol
), which would be built on Jenkins Hill
, and the "President's house" (the White House
), which would be situated on a ridge parallel to the Potomac River. L'Enfant envisioned the President's house to have public gardens and monumental architecture. Reflecting his grandiose visions, he specified that the President's house would be five times the size of the building that was actually constructed. Emphasizing the importance of the new nation's legislature, the Congress house would be located on a longitude
designated as 0:0.
The plan specified that most streets would be laid out in a grid. To form the grid, some streets would travel in an east-west direction, while others would travel in a north-south direction. Diagonal avenues later named after the states of the union crossed the grid. The diagonal avenues intersected with the north-south and east-west streets at circles
and rectangular plazas that would later honor notable Americans and provide open space.
L'Enfant laid out a 400 feet (122 m)-wide garden-lined "grand avenue", which he expected to travel for about 1 miles (1.6 km) along an east-west axis in the center of an area that would later become the National Mall
. He also laid out a narrower avenue (Pennsylvania Avenue
) which would connect the Congress house with the President's house. In time, Pennsylvania Avenue developed into the capital city's present "grand avenue".
L'Enfant's plan additionally laid out a system of canals (later designated as the Washington City Canal
) that would pass the Congress house and the President's house. One branch of the canal would empty into the Potomac River south of the "President's house" at the mouth of Tiber Creek
, which would be channelized and straightened.
L'Enfant secured the lease of quarries
at Wigginton Island and along Aquia Creek
in Virginia
to supply stone
for the foundation of the Congress house in November 1791. However, his temperament and his insistence that his city design be realized as a whole, brought him into conflict with the Commissioners, who wanted to direct the limited funds available into construction of the federal buildings. In this, they had the support of Thomas Jefferson.
During a contentious period in February 1792, Andrew Ellicott
, who had been conducting the original boundary survey of the future District of Columbia (see: Boundary Stones (District of Columbia)
) and the survey of the federal city under the direction of the Commissioners, informed the Commissioners that L'Enfant had not been able to have the city plan engraved and had refused to provide him with the original plan (of which L'Enfant had prepared several versions). Ellicott, with the aid of his brother, Benjamin Ellicott, then revised the plan, despite L'Enfant's protests. Shortly thereafter, Washington dismissed L'Enfant. After L'Enfant departed, Andrew Ellicott continued the city survey in accordance with the revised plan, several versions of which were engraved, published and distributed. As a result, Ellicott's revisions subsequently became the basis for the capital city's development.
L'Enfant was initially not paid for his work on his plan for the federal city. He fell into disgrace, spending much of the rest of his life trying to persuade Congress to pay him the tens of thousands of dollars that he claimed he was owed. After a number of years, Congress finally paid him a small sum, nearly all of which went to his creditors.
After leaving the national capital area, L'Enfant prepared the initial plans for the city of Paterson, New Jersey
, but was discharged from this project after a year had passed. During the same period (1792-1793) he designed Robert Morris' mansion in Philadelphia, which was never finished because of his delays and Morris' bankruptcy. In 1812, he was offered a position as a Professor of Engineering at United States Military Academy
, but he declined that post. (He did serve as a Professor of Engineering at West Point from 1813 to 1817.) In 1814, L'Enfant worked briefly on the construction of Fort Washington
on the Potomac River southeast of Washington, D.C., but others soon replaced him. L'Enfant surveyed and platted Perrysburg, Ohio on April 26, 1816. Washington, D.C. and Perrysburg, Ohio are the only 2 cities that he designed.
L'Enfant died in poverty. He was buried at the Green Hill farm in Chillum
, Prince George's County, Maryland
. He left behind three watches, three compasses, some books, some maps, and surveying instruments, whose total value was about forty-six dollars.
In 1901 and 1902, the McMillan Commission
used L'Enfant's plan as the cornerstone of a report that recommended a partial redesign of the capital city. Among other things, the Commission's report laid out a plan for a sweeping mall in the area of L'Enfant's widest "grand avenue", which had not been constructed.
At the instigation of a French ambassador to the United States, Jean Jules Jusserand
, L'Enfant's adopted nation then recognized his contributions. In 1909, after lying in state
at the Capitol rotunda
, L'Enfant's remains were re-interred in the Arlington National Cemetery
in Virginia, on a hill overlooking the city that he had partially designed. In 1911, he was honored with a monument placed on top of his grave. Engraved on the monument is a portion of L'Enfant's own plan, which Andrew Ellicott's revision and the McMillan Commission's plan had superseded.
Mann, Nicholas, Sacred Geometry of Washington, D.C.: The Integrity and Power of the Original Design, Green Magic 2006. ISBN 0954723074, ISBN 978-0954723071
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-born American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
and civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
best known for designing the layout of the streets of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
.
Early life
L'Enfant was born at AnetAnet
Anet is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It is situated between the rivers Eure and Vègre, northeast of Dreux by rail....
, Eure et Loire, the third child and second son of Marie Charlotte L'Enfant (aged 25 and the daughter of a minor marine official at court) and Pierre L'Enfant
Pierre L'Enfant (painter)
Pierre L'Enfant was a French painter.Born at Anet, L'Enfant was Charles Parrocel's student and was admitted to the Académie de peinture et de sculpture in 1745. His specialties were battle scenes and landscapes...
(1704–1787), a painter with a good reputation in the service of King Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
. In 1758, his brother Pierre Joseph died at the age of six, leaving him the eldest son. He studied at the Royal Academy in the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
before enrolling to fight in the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
.
Military service
L'Enfant was recruited by Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais to join in the American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
in the American colonies
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...
. He arrived in 1777 at the age of 23, serving as a military engineer
Military engineer
In military science, engineering refers to the practice of designing, building, maintaining and dismantling military works, including offensive, defensive and logistical structures, to shape the physical operating environment in war...
in the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
with Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Lafayette. Despite his aristocratic origins, L'Enfant closely identified with the United States, adopting the name Peter. He was wounded at the Siege of Savannah
Siege of Savannah
The Siege of Savannah or the Second Battle of Savannah was an encounter of the American Revolutionary War in 1779. The year before, the city of Savannah, Georgia, had been captured by a British expeditionary corps under Lieutenant-Colonel Archibald Campbell. The siege itself consisted of a joint...
in 1779, but recovered and served in General George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
's staff as a Captain of Engineers for the remainder of the Revolutionary War
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. During the war, L'Enfant was with George Washington at Valley Forge
Valley Forge
Valley Forge in Pennsylvania was the site of the military camp of the American Continental Army over the winter of 1777–1778 in the American Revolutionary War.-History:...
. While there, Marquis de Lafayette commissioned L'Enfant to paint a portrait of Washington. L'Enfant was promoted by brevet
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
to Major of Engineers on May 2, 1783 in recognition of his service to American liberty. After the war, L'Enfant designed the badge of the Society of the Cincinnati
Society of the Cincinnati
The Society of the Cincinnati is a historical organization with branches in the United States and France founded in 1783 to preserve the ideals and fellowship of the American Revolutionary War officers and to pressure the government to honor pledges it had made to officers who fought for American...
, shaped as an eagle, at the request of Washington, and was sent to France to give the badges to French officers who fought in the war.
Architect and planner
Following the war, L'Enfant established a successful and highly profitable civil engineeringCivil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
firm in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He achieved some fame as an architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
by redesigning the City Hall in New York for the First Congress in Federal Hall
Federal Hall
Federal Hall, built in 1700 as New York's City Hall, later served as the first capitol building of the United States of America under the Constitution, and was the site of George Washington's inauguration as the first President of the United States. It was also where the United States Bill of...
. He also designed coins, medals, furniture and houses of the wealthy, and he was a friend of Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
.
In 1789, when discussions were underway regarding a new federal capital city for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, 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
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
passed the Residence Act
Residence Act
The Residence Act of 1790, officially titled An Act for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of the Government of the United States, is the United States federal law that settled the question of locating the capital of the United States, selecting a site along the Potomac River...
. The legislation, which was the result of a compromise brokered by Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
and Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, specified the new capital be situated on the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
, at some location between the Eastern Branch (the Anacostia River
Anacostia River
The Anacostia River is a river in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States. It flows from Prince George's County in Maryland into Washington, D.C., where it joins with the Washington Channel to empty into the Potomac River at Buzzard Point. It is approximately long...
) and the Connogochegue
Conococheague Creek
Conococheague Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River, is a free-flowing stream that originates in Pennsylvania and empties into the Potomac River near Williamsport, Maryland. It is in length, with in Pennsylvania and in Maryland...
, near Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in northwestern Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Washington County, and, by many definitions, the largest city in a region known as Western Maryland. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2010 census was 39,662, and the population of the...
. The Residence Act gave authority to President Washington to appoint three commissioners to oversee the survey of the federal district and "according to such Plans, as the President shall approve," provide public buildings to accommodate the Federal government in 1800.
President George Washington appointed L'Enfant in 1791 to design the new capital city (later named the City of Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
) under the supervision of three Commissioners, whom Washington had appointed to oversee the planning and development of the ten-mile square of federal territory that would later become the District of Columbia
History of Washington, D.C.
The history of Washington, D.C. is tied to its role as the capital of the United States. Originally inhabited by an Algonquian-speaking people known as the Nacotchtank, the site of the District of Columbia along the Potomac River was originally selected by President George Washington. The city came...
. Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, who worked alongside President Washington in overseeing the plans for the capital, 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. Though Jefferson had modest ideas for the Capital, L'Enfant saw the task as far more grandiose, believing he was not only locating the capital, but also included devising the city plan and designing the buildings.
L'Enfant arrived in Georgetown
Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
Georgetown is a neighborhood located in northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751, the port of Georgetown predated the establishment of the federal district and the City of Washington by 40 years...
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. On June 22, L'Enfant presented his first plan for the federal city to President Washington. On August 19, he appended a new map to a letter that he sent to the President.
President Washington retained one of L'Enfant's plans, showed it to Congress, and later gave it to the three Commissioners. The U.S. Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
now holds both the plan that Washington apparently gave to the Commissioners and an undated anonymous survey map that the Library considers L'Enfant to have drawn before August 19, 1791. The survey map may be one that L'Enfant appended to his August 19 letter to the President.
L'Enfant's "Plan of the city intended for the permanent seat of the government of the United States..." encompassed an area bounded by the Potomac River, the Eastern Branch, the base of the escarpment
Escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevations.-Description and variants:...
of the Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line
Atlantic Seaboard fall line
The Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line, or Fall Zone, is a escarpment where the Piedmont and Atlantic coastal plain meet in the eastern United States...
, and Rock Creek
Rock Creek (Potomac River)
Rock Creek is a free-flowing tributary of the Potomac River, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean via the Chesapeake Bay. The creek is long, with a drainage area of about...
. His plan specified locations for the "Congress house" (the Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
), which would be built on Jenkins Hill
Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.
Capitol Hill, aside from being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues...
, and the "President's house" (the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
), which would be situated on a ridge parallel to the Potomac River. L'Enfant envisioned the President's house to have public gardens and monumental architecture. Reflecting his grandiose visions, he specified that the President's house would be five times the size of the building that was actually constructed. Emphasizing the importance of the new nation's legislature, the Congress house would be located on a longitude
Longitude
Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....
designated as 0:0.
The plan specified that most streets would be laid out in a grid. To form the grid, some streets would travel in an east-west direction, while others would travel in a north-south direction. Diagonal avenues later named after the states of the union crossed the grid. The diagonal avenues intersected with the north-south and east-west streets at circles
Traffic circle
A traffic circle or rotary is a type of circular intersection in which traffic must travel in one direction around a central island. In some countries, traffic entering the circle has the right-of-way and drivers in the circle must yield. In many other countries, traffic entering the circle must...
and rectangular plazas that would later honor notable Americans and provide open space.
L'Enfant laid out a 400 feet (122 m)-wide garden-lined "grand avenue", which he expected to travel for about 1 miles (1.6 km) along an east-west axis in the center of an area that would later become the National Mall
National Mall
The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service , and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...
. He also laid out a narrower avenue (Pennsylvania Avenue
Pennsylvania Avenue
Pennsylvania Avenue is a street in Washington, D.C. that joins the White House and the United States Capitol. Called "America's Main Street", it is the location of official parades and processions, as well as protest marches...
) which would connect the Congress house with the President's house. In time, Pennsylvania Avenue developed into the capital city's present "grand avenue".
Washington City Canal
The Washington City Canal operated from 1815 until the mid-1850s in Washington, D.C. The canal connected the Anacostia River, called the "Eastern Branch" at that time, to Tiber Creek, the Potomac River, and later the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal...
) that would pass the Congress house and the President's house. One branch of the canal would empty into the Potomac River south of the "President's house" at the mouth of Tiber Creek
Tiber Creek
Tiber Creek or Tyber Creek was a tributary of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.Originally known as Goose Creek, it was renamed after Rome's Tiber River as the lands southeast of then Georgetown, Maryland, were selected for the City of Washington, the new capital of the United States...
, which would be channelized and straightened.
L'Enfant secured the lease of quarries
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
at Wigginton Island and along Aquia Creek
Aquia Creek
Aquia Creek is a tributary of the tidal segment of the Potomac River and is located in northern Virginia. The creek's headwaters lie in southeastern Fauquier County, and it empties into the Potomac at Brent Point in Stafford County, south of Washington, D.C....
in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
to supply stone
Aquia Creek sandstone
Aquia Creek sandstone is a type of brown to light-gray freestone used extensively in building construction in Washington, D.C. in the late 18th and early 19th centuries...
for the foundation of the Congress house in November 1791. However, his temperament and his insistence that his city design be realized as a whole, brought him into conflict with the Commissioners, who wanted to direct the limited funds available into construction of the federal buildings. In this, they had the support of Thomas Jefferson.
During a contentious period in February 1792, Andrew Ellicott
Andrew Ellicott
Andrew Ellicott was a U.S. surveyor who helped map many of the territories west of the Appalachians, surveyed the boundaries of the District of Columbia, continued and completed Pierre Charles L'Enfant's work on the plan for Washington, D.C., and served as a teacher in survey methods for...
, who had been conducting the original boundary survey of the future District of Columbia (see: Boundary Stones (District of Columbia)
Boundary Stones (District of Columbia)
The Boundary Markers of the Original District of Columbia are the 40 milestones that mark the four lines forming the boundaries between the states of Maryland and Virginia and the square of 100 square miles of federal territory that became the District of Columbia in 1801...
) and the survey of the federal city under the direction of the Commissioners, informed the Commissioners that L'Enfant had not been able to have the city plan engraved and had refused to provide him with the original plan (of which L'Enfant had prepared several versions). Ellicott, with the aid of his brother, Benjamin Ellicott, then revised the plan, despite L'Enfant's protests. Shortly thereafter, Washington dismissed L'Enfant. After L'Enfant departed, Andrew Ellicott continued the city survey in accordance with the revised plan, several versions of which were engraved, published and distributed. As a result, Ellicott's revisions subsequently became the basis for the capital city's development.
L'Enfant was initially not paid for his work on his plan for the federal city. He fell into disgrace, spending much of the rest of his life trying to persuade Congress to pay him the tens of thousands of dollars that he claimed he was owed. After a number of years, Congress finally paid him a small sum, nearly all of which went to his creditors.
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...
, but was discharged from this project after a year had passed. During the same period (1792-1793) he designed Robert Morris' mansion in Philadelphia, which was never finished because of his delays and Morris' bankruptcy. In 1812, he was offered a position as a Professor of Engineering at United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
, but he declined that post. (He did serve as a Professor of Engineering at West Point from 1813 to 1817.) In 1814, L'Enfant worked briefly on the construction of Fort Washington
Fort Washington Park
Fort Washington, located near the community of Fort Washington, Maryland, USA, was for many decades the only defensive fort protecting Washington D.C. The original fort, overlooking the Potomac River, was completed in 1809, and was named Fort Warburton...
on the Potomac River southeast of Washington, D.C., but others soon replaced him. L'Enfant surveyed and platted Perrysburg, Ohio on April 26, 1816. Washington, D.C. and Perrysburg, Ohio are the only 2 cities that he designed.
L'Enfant died in poverty. He was buried at the Green Hill farm in Chillum
Chillum, Maryland
Chillum is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 34,252 at the 2000 census...
, Prince George's County, Maryland
Prince George's County, Maryland
Prince George's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, immediately north, east, and south of Washington, DC. As of 2010, it has a population of 863,420 and is the wealthiest African-American majority county in the nation....
. He left behind three watches, three compasses, some books, some maps, and surveying instruments, whose total value was about forty-six dollars.
Later recognition
McMillan Plan
The McMillan Plan was an architectural plan for the development of Washington, D.C., formulated in 1902 by the Senate Park Improvement Commission of the District of Columbia which had been formed by Congress the previous year.-United States Park Commission:...
used L'Enfant's plan as the cornerstone of a report that recommended a partial redesign of the capital city. Among other things, the Commission's report laid out a plan for a sweeping mall in the area of L'Enfant's widest "grand avenue", which had not been constructed.
At the instigation of a French ambassador to the United States, Jean Jules Jusserand
Jean Jules Jusserand
Jean Adrien Antoine Jules Jusserand was a French author and diplomat. He was the French ambassador to the United States during World War I.-Career:...
, L'Enfant's adopted nation then recognized his contributions. In 1909, after lying in state
Lying in state
Lying in state is a term used to describe the tradition in which a coffin is placed on view to allow the public at large to pay their respects to the deceased. It traditionally takes place in the principal government building of a country or city...
at the Capitol rotunda
United States Capitol Rotunda
The United States Capitol rotunda is the central rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.. Located below the Capitol dome, it is the tallest part of the Capitol and has been described as its "symbolic and physical heart."...
, L'Enfant's remains were re-interred in the Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
in Virginia, on a hill overlooking the city that he had partially designed. In 1911, he was honored with a monument placed on top of his grave. Engraved on the monument is a portion of L'Enfant's own plan, which Andrew Ellicott's revision and the McMillan Commission's plan had superseded.
Connection to Freemasonry
During the period when L'Enfant was in New York City, supervising renovations to Federal Hall, where the inauguration of George Washington was to take place, he was initiated into Freemasonry. His initiation took place on April 17, 1789 at Holland Lodge No. 8 F&AM which was chartered in 1787 by the Grand Lodge of New York F&AM. L’Enfant took only the first of three degrees offered by the lodge and did not progress further in Freemasonry.Honors
- In 1942, a United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Liberty shipLiberty shipLiberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
named the SS Pierre L'EnfantSS Pierre L'EnfantSS Pierre L'Enfant was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Pierre L'Enfant, a French-born American architect who designed what is today Washington D.C....
was launched. In 1970, she was shipwrecked and abandoned. - L'Enfant PlazaL'Enfant PlazaL'Enfant Plaza is a complex of one governmental and three commercial buildings, as well as the "La Promenade" shopping mall, in the Southwest section of Washington, D.C. The plaza is located south of Independence Avenue SW between 12th and 9th Streets SW...
, a complex of office buildings, a hotel, and an underground shopping center centered around an esplanadeEsplanadeAn esplanade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The original meaning of esplanade was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide clear fields of fire for the fortress' guns...
(L'Enfant Promenade) in southwest Washington, D.C., was dedicated in 1968. Meeting rooms in the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel bear the names of French artists, military leaders, and explorers. The central portion of the plaza contains a map of the city. Within the city map is a smaller map that shows the plaza's location. - Beneath the L'Enfant Plaza is one of the central rapid transitRapid transitA rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
Metro stops in Washington, D.C., the L'Enfant PlazaL'Enfant Plaza (Washington Metro)L'Enfant Plaza is a Washington Metro station in the Southwest Federal Center neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. The station was opened on July 1, 1977, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority...
station. - In 1980, Western Plaza (subsequently renamed to Freedom PlazaFreedom PlazaFreedom Plaza, originally known as Western Plaza, is an open plaza in Northwest Washington, D.C., United States, located at the corner of 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, adjacent to Pershing Park. Constructed in 1980, the plaza is mostly composed of stone, inlaid with a depiction of parts...
) in northwest Washington, D.C., was designed. An inlay in the Plaza depicts parts of L'Enfant's plan for the City of Washington. - In 2003, L'Enfant's plan for Washington was commemorated on a USPS postage stamp. The diamond shape of the stamp reflects the original 100 square miles (259 km²) tract of land selected for the District. Shown is a view along the National MallNational MallThe National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service , and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...
, including the Capitol, the Washington MonumentWashington MonumentThe Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington...
, and the Lincoln MemorialLincoln MemorialThe Lincoln Memorial is an American memorial built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The architect was Henry Bacon, the sculptor of the main statue was Daniel Chester French, and the painter of the interior...
. Also portrayed are cherry blossoms around the tidal basin and row houses from the ShawShaw, Washington, D.C.Shaw is a neighborhood located in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. It is roughly bounded by M Street, NW or Massachusetts Avenue NW to the south; New Jersey Avenue, NW to the east; Florida Avenue, NW to the north; and 11th Street, NW to the west...
neighborhood. - The Government of the District of Columbia has commissioned a statue of L'Enfant that it hopes will one day reside in the United States CapitolUnited States CapitolThe United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
as part of the National Statuary Hall CollectionNational Statuary Hall CollectionThe National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol comprises statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history...
. Although the law currently only allows U.S. states to contribute statues to the collection, the DC Government commissioned statues of both L'Enfant and Frederick DouglassFrederick DouglassFrederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...
to be the District's representatives in the event the United States Congress passes legislation allowing the District of Columbia to contribute statues alongside those of the 50 states. For the time being, the statues of L'Enfant and Douglass are displayed in buildings of the municipal government.
Further reading
- Ovason, David, The Secret Architectpre of Our Nation's Capital: the Masons and the building of Washington, D.C., New York City: Perennial, 2002. ISBN 0060195371 ISBN 978-0060195373
Mann, Nicholas, Sacred Geometry of Washington, D.C.: The Integrity and Power of the Original Design, Green Magic 2006. ISBN 0954723074, ISBN 978-0954723071