Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-03-19
THE ORIGINALSURVEYS
WHEN GEN. WASHINGTON GAL
LoPED OVER SITE OF THIS CITY.
Planned With His Engineer How the
Future Capital Should Lie
The Principal Points.

ut is somewhat singular that the congress
sional committee inquiries hearings and de-
iberations concerning the fundamental en-
| cheering features of the city and particu-
| larly the mall, do not take into account the
| Office which President Washington himself
| an expert engineer, established for the
| preparation of a plan and its development
| and where the original surveys and notes
made under his own eye and with his ap-
prevail are preserved said an expert engi-
1 neer familiar with the topogra phical his
| tory of the District.
During the summer of 1871, while spend
| ing brief vacation from the cares of office
at Philadelphia, on his estate at Mount YER
| non, the President met his engineer at
| Georgetown and passed an entire day gall
| Looping over the corn fields which then COW
| cred the site of the future capital and ex-
amined the locations which had been out
| lined as what wre then known the. public
| reservations, seventeen in number in GER
| tain OF which were to be placed the public
| buildings
| Their first objective was the elevation
| known as jenkins, now Capitol. HILL At
this point the engineer called his attention
| to the western border of the plateau as the
| most suitable location for the federal house
| Capitol. Then after directing attention to
the broad stretch Of valley encircled on the
north by range Of hills terminal ting
| in Georgetown Heights and washed on
| the south by the Potomac, thu, engi-
neer indicated in the distance the
site of the Presidents house and to the
| south. a knoll where he had mapped the
| site of the equestrian monument voted in
| his chiefs honor by the continental con-
| gress in 1888. Between the federal house
| and this knoll, toward the west, and from
| the same point to the east, distance of one
| mile, where it was proposed to erect an his
| toric column, 1t was the purpose of the en-
| gineer to establish the axis Of his plan.
hoC lima oil TO he
measured. The President and his engineer
having determined on this initial step, gal
loped along the Tiber to the knoll referred
to, from which point they looked back upon
the hill. The President, at once grasping
the situation, not only gave his approval to
this line, but also the point selected for the
statue in his honor. From here they con-
tinued their ride to the site of the Presi-
dents house to the location Of which the
President also gave his consent.
Feasibility of Plan.
1.-The feasibility Of the actual working of
the plan as proposed by his engineer was
apparent to the expert judgment Of Wash
ington as surveyor, and not only received
his sanction, but orders to proceed forth
with. The first step was the establishment
of the initial point on the spot which the
President had indicated on Jenkins Hill.
For this purpose Maj. L'Enfant. assisted by
Mr.. Ellicott, also an expert. drew true
passing through the area intended for the
federal house. This line extended north
along the center of a proposed street, now
North Capitol and south in the same way.
| This was, in fact the prime meridian of
the United States. This line crossed
by another due east and west which passed
through the same area. This axis to the
west lay in the center of the mall to a mon
ument on the ground placed there in De-
cember 2. 1904, by order of President Jeffer-
son, still shown by the inscription as a
true parallel on the globe, at the point of
intersection of north and south line, the
north limb of which passed through the
center of the Presidents house. The axial
line extending to east followed what is now
the exact center of East Capitol street.
The one mile terminates in the center of
now Lincoln Square.
ITO show the significance of this point
it was proposed that the historic column
should be an itinerary column as well,
from which all distances through the con-
tinent' were to be calculated. All the east
and west streets are parallel to this line.
These lines were accurately measured and
made the bases upon which the whole plan
was executed. All lines as the surveys pro-
crossed were run by transit instrument
and the acute angles were determined by
actual measurement, leaving nothing to the
uncertainty of the 7compass. Around the in
itial point referred to in the course of years
rose the mighty Cornthian edifice in which
the Congress of the United States has its
home!
Center Of the City.
'Any one visiting the crypt under the ro-
tunda will notice star in the pavement in
the exact center, that a plumb sus-
pended from the dome center would hang
over 1T. From this point at right angles
start the lines which form the quadrants Of
the city plan-N. E. S. E., N. w, s. W.
In 1921 Congress authorized observations to
be made ofthiS same north and south line
to ascertain the longitude of the Capitol in
the city of Washington from some known
meridian in Europe, and also to establish a
prime meridian for the United States. These
determinations gave also latitude T6 degrees
% minutes and 30 seconds. longitude - west
of Greenwich.
Whatever action may be taken with
respect to buildings the mall, the equi-
librium of that symmetrical area in the
heart of the city and the base of it's plan
should not be disturbed by any change in
its axis which now traverses its exact CEN
ter east and west between 3 street north
the south or north would not only mar it's
value as datum line, but have decidedly
unbalanced appearance on the maps.
THE grand avenue or mall as approved
by Washington, has so long been the chief
feature of the city's park system that 10
further mar it with buildings, especially in
utter disregard of the plans of Washington
and j. Enfant. seems 90 be like the deface-
ment OF Landmark surrounded by many
associations The removal of the rookeries
on the south side of the avenue would have
the double effect of establishment and util-
ity and bring out the historic mall in its
full beauty