Lego Architecture Белый Дом (21006) [3/76] The plan of washington

Pierre L’Enfant plan of Washington, D.C. WikimediaCommons

Hoban’s name has been connected with public buildings

and plantation houses in the Charleston area, most notably

the historic Charleston County Courthouse and the William

Seabrook house. Another prominent building in Charleston,

actually documented as a Hoban design, was a 1,200-seat

theater on Savage’s Green that no longer survives.

The plan of Washington

In 1791 President George Washington appointed Pierre

Charles L’Enfant to design the new capital city. L’Enfant’s

plan was based on a grid, with streets traveling north-

south and east-west. Diagonal avenues, which came to

be named after the states, crossed the grid, intersecting

with the grid to form plazas. The overall eﬀ ect aimed to

establish a city with direction and character.

To be connected in a straight line by an avenue

160 feet wide, L’Enfant selected two high spots – Jenkins Hill

for the “Congress House” and a second hill a mile and a

half away for the “President’s Palace”. The avenue,

though no longer a straight line since an addition

to the Treasury building in 1840 eﬀ ectively blocked it,

became Pennsylvania Avenue.

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7/2/2010 6:46:24 PM