Snapshots of the Past

Plan of the City of Washington, Seat of Government of the United States – Vintage Print

Plan of the City of Washington, Seat of Government of the United States — historic image
Plan of the City of Washington, Seat of Government of the United States. Historic image from the Washington DC collection.

(Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

Few images capture their era like this historic image of Plan of the City of Washington, Seat of Government of the United States. Drawn from the Snapshots of the Past archive, it is an authentic piece of documented history.

Framed, it is ready for the wall; unframed, it is ready for the frame you choose. A conversation-starting piece for home, office, or as a meaningful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.

Plan of the City of Washington, Seat of Government of the United States

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The city plan that Pierre Charles L'Enfant drew for the new federal capital is the core of this image, and its lines still shape Washington today. Commissioned by George Washington's administration and completed in 1791, the layout pairs a rectilinear street grid with wide diagonal avenues that radiate from key sites such as the Capitol and the President's House. Look closely at the labeled squares and circles, which were meant to hold monuments and public buildings. Many were never realized as L'Enfant imagined them, and that gap between plan and built city is part of what makes the map worth studying.

Original scan5,148 × 3,833 px · prints to 17 × 13 in at 300 dpi
Referencect000744

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