L’Enfant Plan
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The L’Enfant Plan is the original 1791 urban design for Washington, D.C., created by Pierre Charles L’Enfant, featuring a grand Baroque-inspired layout of diagonal avenues, broad vistas, and monumental public spaces centered on the U.S. Capitol and the National Mall.
Statements (63)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
city plan
ⓘ
cultural heritage ⓘ historic urban design ⓘ urban plan ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs | Plan of the City of Washington NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| appliesTo | Washington, D.C. NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| avenueIncludes |
Connecticut Avenue
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
East Capitol Street NERFINISHED ⓘ Georgia Avenue NERFINISHED ⓘ Maryland Avenue NERFINISHED ⓘ Massachusetts Avenue NERFINISHED ⓘ New York Avenue NERFINISHED ⓘ North Capitol Street NERFINISHED ⓘ Pennsylvania Avenue NERFINISHED ⓘ Rhode Island Avenue NERFINISHED ⓘ South Capitol Street NERFINISHED ⓘ Virginia Avenue NERFINISHED ⓘ West Capitol Street NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| centeredOn |
National Mall
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
President’s House site NERFINISHED ⓘ United States Capitol NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| characteristic |
broad vistas
ⓘ
diagonal avenues ⓘ grand axial alignments ⓘ hierarchical street system ⓘ monumental public spaces ⓘ traffic circles and squares ⓘ |
| commissionedBy |
George Washington
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
United States federal government NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| defines |
layout of central Washington, D.C.
ⓘ
location of major public squares ⓘ location of the National Mall ⓘ location of the President’s House ⓘ location of the U.S. Capitol ⓘ major radial avenues ⓘ |
| designer | Pierre Charles L’Enfant NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| documentType | engraved plan ⓘ |
| heritageDesignationDate | 1997 ⓘ |
| heritageStatus |
National Historic Landmark
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
listed in the National Register of Historic Places ⓘ |
| influenced |
McMillan Plan
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
later development of the National Mall ⓘ |
| inspiredBy |
Baroque city planning principles
ⓘ
Baroque urbanism ⓘ Versailles NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| language |
English
ⓘ
French ⓘ |
| mapScale | 1:9,600 (approximate) ⓘ |
| modifiedBy | McMillan Commission NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| modifiedIn | early 20th century ⓘ |
| notableFeature |
ceremonial routes between branches of government
ⓘ
grid of numbered and lettered streets ⓘ integration of topography into street layout ⓘ prominent vistas terminating in public buildings ⓘ system of reservations for public use ⓘ |
| partOf | historic core of Washington, D.C. ⓘ |
| purpose |
seat of the federal government
ⓘ
symbolic representation of the new republic ⓘ |
| startDate | 1791-03-26 ⓘ |
| status |
partially altered by later development
ⓘ
partially implemented ⓘ |
| year | 1791 ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.