The Washington herald., 1922-06-11
WASHINGTON WAS
BUILT TO ORDER,
SAYS ENGINEER
Most Beautiful City in
The Country, He
Declares.
TELLS IT'S HISTORY
Capital City Was Planned to
Allow for Rapid
Growth.

A well-knoWn engineer declares
Washington is considered the most
beautiful city in the country!
1t does not quite equal Paris and
other famous capitals of Europe in
beauty now. but 1t is hoped that
under the guidance of the Fine Arts
Commission ii will before long be
classed among the most beautiful
cities in the world. The city was built
to order, solely for the purpose OF
government: was named after the
father Of his country, and laid out
according to his individual views
Petrograd, built by Peter the Great.
is perhaps the only other capital
which has had such an origin. The
famous capitals of Europe have
centuries Of history behind them.
but it is scarcely $50 years since
Maj L'Enfant entered upon the
work of building a Capital for the
United States of America.
The trainers of the Constitution
made provision for a Federal dis
trict as the seat of the central gov
ernment. Several States bid for
the Capital, Virginia and Maryland
finally uniting in an offer Of a
tract of land on the Potomac. The
tract on the south side of the river
was later retrOceded to Virginia.
Washington anticipated the enor-
Inous growth of this country and
planned for a Federal Capital suit
able for a great nation. He met
with strong opposition in Congress
because the nations Legislators re-
fused to look beyond their own gen.
eration, but the wisdom of the
father Of his country prevailed and
the Capital will remain an everlast-
ing monument to it's founder and
an object OF pride to a grateful
nation.
Pierre Charles L'Enfant was a
skillful military engineer who came
to America in April. 1777. to fight
on the side of the colonists. In
17S3, having been engaged by
Washington to plan and build the
Capital, Washington desired that
Congress should be located at a
distance from the Executive Man
sion and other government depart
ments. so as to avoid the inevita BILE
interference in work and confusion
that would have resulted had the
Capitol been placed in the center of
a great square of public buildings
as insisted upon by John Adams.
the Vice President. L'Enfant, there
fore, placed the Presidents Home
about one mile and a quarter down
Pennsylvania avenue from Capitol
Hill.
L'Enfant. as a military man, be-
heving he should take orders only
from the government, frequently
came in conflict with the civilian
commissioners in charge of building
the Capital. He did not have the
free haand he desired and his COM
plants Of interference with his
plans were perhaps justified. On
one occasion he arbitrarily razed a
building built by one of the COM
missioners. claiming II marred the
beauty of the city as planned by
him. George Washington, who re-
garded this as an act Of insubordi-
nation. wrote a letter to the COM
missiOneers which resulted in his
dismissal. L'Enfant, however, never
returned to France but died at the
home of a friend in Bladensburg.
II was a sad ending to the career
of the talented man who made this
HedullIul city possible.
The District of Columbia is
located on the northern bank of
the Potomac River. about lis miles
above its mouth, and embraces an
area Of siNty-nine square miles
Its population. according to the
1920 census. is 437,631. As origi-
nally planned the Capitol was to be
the center Of the city. with streets
branching out in all directions. 1t
was thought that the city would
grow south and east. but contrary
TO expectations it expanded to the
north and northwest. Consequently
the original rear. or west end Of
the Capitol. now faces the most i'm
pOrtant part Of the city, and the
statue Of Armed Liberty surmount-
ing the dome stands with her back
turned to the heart of the city.
The plan of the city is symmetrf-
cal. the Capitol and the White
House being the two centers from
which radiate broad avenues, many
of which are completely arched by
trees throughout their entire
length Three streets running from
the Capitol, known as North Capt.
tol, East Capitol and South Capitol
streets, and a broad stretch of pub
lie gardens on the west. known as
the Mall, divide Washington into
four sections-Northeast. Southeast,
Southwest and Northwest. Begin
ming at the Capitol. the streets run
ming north and south are num-
bered, and the streets running
east and west are lettered accord
ing TO the alphabet. The broad
avenues. named after States, run
diaGonally. bisecting the streets.
The residents of the District of
Columbia are deprived of the privi-
lege of local self-government and
also of voting in any national cleo
tion. The government of the Dis
trict is administered by Congress
through board of three commits
sioners. two OF whom are appointed
from civil life by the President of
the United States and confirmed by
the Senate, the third being usually
detailed from time to time by the
President from the Engineer Corps