Snapshots of the Past

Plan of the City of Washington – Historic Reproduction

Plan of the City of Washington, 1792 — historic image
Plan of the City of Washington, 1792. Historic image from the U.S. Capitol collection.

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

Description

Plan of the City of Washington comes to life in this historic image, reproduced from the original with every detail intact. Drawn from the Snapshots of the Past archive, it is an authentic piece of documented history.

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Plan of the City of Washington

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This 1792 map by Pierre Charles L'Enfant, printed in Philadelphia, sets out the layout of the new federal city before most of it existed. L'Enfant placed the Capitol on high ground at the eastern end of a broad axis, with avenues radiating outward from it and a grid of streets crossing them. The plan was drawn after George Washington chose the site and commissioned L'Enfant to design the capital, and it shows how the government's buildings were meant to dominate the landscape. Notice how the diagonal avenues cut across the grid, a deliberate choice that gave the city its ceremonial character.

Created / published1792
NotesPierre Charles L’Enfant [1792]. Philadelphia
Original scan3,900 × 2,677 px · prints to 13 × 9 in at 300 dpi
Reference1791 L'Enfant

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