L’Enfant’s Plan for the City of Washington

Inspired by the street plan of Paris, Pierre Charles L’Enfant designed the City of Washington with diagonal avenues laid out over a grid-plan of streets. Note the locations of the President’s House (before it was known as the White House) and the Capitol. 

Plan of the City of Washington
Designed by Pierre Charles L’Enfant; Published by Thackara and Vallance 
ca. 1794
Paper and Ink
Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division, Washington, D.C.