Chapter I: Preface

This Manual on the Origin and Development of Washington is published for the use of students, particularly in high schools, desiring to make a study of the National Capital a part of their course in civics.

The 25 chapters composing the book are of such interest and importance that an hour a week may profitably be devoted to each, but the chapters on public buildings and monuments require each two or three periods for effective presentation. In this manner the Manual may serve as a textbook for a year’s work; it will also be found helpful by the general reader interested in Washington.

The Manual deals historically with the founding and development of the National Capital. Beginning with the twentieth century we find a new impetus given to the development of the city by the McMillan Park Commission of 1901. Its work has been carried forward by the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Park and Planning Commission, in cooperation with the Government of the District of Columbia, including the Zoning Commission; also, of course, in cooperation with the President of the United States, officials of the Government, and the Congress of the United States, which by virtue of the Federal Constitution exercises “exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever” over the District of Columbia.

It should be kept in mind that in the study of the National Capital we are studying the seat of government of the greatest nation in the world, a city that was laid on a broad, firm foundation, and although neglected for decades during the last century, the twentieth century has seen Washington transformed into a city in keeping with the dignity, power, and wealth of this great Nation.

The Plan of Washington is at the basis of city planning in the United States. The organization of the National Conference on City Planning in 1907 was inspired by the work of the McMillan Park Commission of 1901. Many of the leading artists of the country--architects, sculptors, painters, and landscape architects--have served in the work of beautifying the city. Washington is a city that is ever growing and it is destined to be the most beautiful city in the world.

The writer wishes to express his grateful appreciation to Senator Carl Hayden for having introduced the legislation to print this volume.

H. PAUL CAEMMERER.

THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PURCHASED FROM THE
SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS, U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON, D. C. AT $2.00 A COPY (BUCKRAM)

CONTENTS

Chapter Page

I The Federal City: Story of the Movement Which Established
the Seat of Government Near the Potomac 1

II Establishment of the Temporary and Permanent Seats of
Government 7

III Development of the National Capital--The Plan of the City 13

Site of the Federal City 13

Terms of Original Agreement 15

Boundary Stones of the District of Columbia 19

Preliminary Studies 20

IV Maj. Pierre Charles L’Enfant 23

V The L’Enfant Plan 25

The Ellicott Plan--The L’Enfant Plan Enlarged 29

VI Early Washington 35

VII Washington 1810-1815 41

VIII Washington 1816-1839 45

IX Washington 1840-1859 49

X Washington 1860-1870 53

XI Improvements Made During President Grant’s Administration 61

XII The Influence of the Centennial Celebration and of the
World’s Columbian Exposition on Art in the United States 65

XIII Highway Plan of the District of Columbia 69

XIV The McMillan Park Commission--The Plan of 1901 73

XV National Commission of Fine Arts 95

XVI Zoning of the Capital 101

XVII The National Capital Park and Planning Commission 105

XVIII The Lincoln Memorial and the Arlington Memorial Bridge 131

XIX The Parks of the District of Columbia 143

XX Architecture of Early Days 165

XXI Public and Semipublic Buildings 219

XXII The Public-Buildings Program 293

XXIII The Government of the District of Columbia 305

XXIV Arlington National Cemetery 309

XXV Statues and Monuments 319

Appendix 347

List of Statues and Monuments in Washington 347

Bibliographical List of Books on Washington the National
Capital 353

List of Presidents of the United States 355

Quotations from Great Americans on Washington the
National Capital 357

Index 359

ILLUSTRATIONS

Page

The heart of the Nation’s Capital Frontispiece

Adams Memorial, the 324

Anacostia Park, plan of 160

Aqueduct Bridge, old 180

Arboretum, National, map of 162

Arlington Cemetery, Arlington Mansion, and Fort Myer 308

Arlington Mansion, reception hall 310

Arlington Memorial Bridge 138

Arlington Memorial Bridge, architect’s design 136

Arlington Memorial Bridge development 141

Arlington Memorial Bridge, eagle and fasces 139

Arlington Memorial Bridge, eagle and bison head 137

Arlington National Cemetery--Memorial Amphitheater 312

Arlington National Cemetery--Maine Monument and the Memorial
Amphitheater 316

Arlington, plan for development of greater 142

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Station, old 73

Boundary stone near Sixteenth Street NW. 19

Boundary stones of the District of Columbia 17

Boundary stones, three of the 18

British Embassy 290

Building regulations issued by President Washington 21

Burke, statue of Edmund 344

Burnham, Daniel H., on city planning 81

Cabin John Bridge 214

Capitol, the 220

Capitol, the, 1840 49

Capitol, the, 1870 60

Capitol at night 222

Capitol, basement plan of, 1800 171

Capitol, bronze doors to the 225

Capitol, bronze doors to the House of Representatives wing 229

Capitol, bronze doors to the Senate wing 227

Capitol, design by Thornton, 1800 165

Capitol, from Pennsylvania Avenue, 1830 166

Capitol, from the west, showing the Tripoli column 167

Capitol Grounds and Union Station Plaza, 1917 96

Capitol Grounds, treatment of the 297

Capitol Prison, old 53

Capitol, showing uncompleted dome, 1860 54

Capitol, treatment for area west of the, plan of 1901 85

Capitol upon its restoration, 1827 164

Capitol, view from dome of, looking east 106

Capitol, view of dome of the, looking south 107

Central composition of the National Capital 100

Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, Georgetown, lock of the old 178

Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, gatehouse 48

Christ Church, Washington 189

Christ Church, Alexandria, Va 120

Christ Church burial ground, later known as Congressional Cemetery 44

Columbia Island Plaza and Memorial Avenue 140

Constitution Hall 278

Dante, statue of 337

Decatur House 176

Declaration of Independence and the Constitution 251

Dermott map, the 32

District of Columbia Supreme Court Building 194

Dolly Madison House 175

Dupont Memorial Fountain 335

East Capitol Street 111

Ellicott plan, the 30

Ellicott map, the 39

Executive Building, 1820-66 267

Fish market along the water front 115

Folger Shakespeare Library 253

Folger Shakespeare Library, exhibition hall 254

Ford’s Theater 216

Fort Drive 110

Francis Scott Key Bridge 181

Francis Scott Key House 183

Freedom, statue of 223

Gatehouse by Bulfinch, formerly near the Capitol 72

Gatepost designed by Bulfinch, near the Capitol 63

George Washington Memorial Parkway 114

Georgetown, house of the early days in 184

Government Printing Office, the United States 258

Grand Army of the Republic Memorial 330

Grand review of Union Army, May 1865 58

Grant, Gen. U. S., memorial 338, 342

Grant, Gen. U. S., memorial, Artillery group 341

Grant, Gen. U. S., memorial, Cavalry group 340

Great Falls of the Potomac 116

Hamilton, statue of Alexander 345

Haymarket Square, old 59

Horse cars, view showing 61

House of Representatives Chamber 231

House of Representatives about 1820, painting by Samuel F. B.
Morse 46

House of Representatives Chamber, 1830 169

House of Representatives Office Building, New 233

House of Representatives Office Building, Old 233

Italian Embassy 291

Jackson, statue of Gen. Andrew 323

Jeanne d’Arc, statue of 334

Joaquin Miller Cabin in Rock Creek Park 159

King map, the 33

Lafayette Park, showing statue of Gen. Andrew Jackson 152

Lafayette, statue of General 327

L’Enfant, Maj. Pierre Charles 23

L’Enfant plan, the 26

L’Enfant plan, sketch of the 22

L’Enfant, tomb of 317

Library of Congress 244

Library of Congress addition 248

Library of Congress, grand staircase 246

Library of Congress, reading room 249

Lincoln died, house in which President 217

Lincoln, second inaugural of President, 1865 56

Lincoln Memorial, the 130, 154

Lincoln Memorial and approaches, the 130

Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Basin 134

Lincoln Memorial, site of the, 1901 92

Lincoln Memorial, statue of Abraham Lincoln 132

Lincoln Memorial, Memorial Bridge, and Riverside Drive, plan of
1901 93

Longfellow, statue of Henry Wadsworth 328

Mall about 1890, view of the 64

Mall, the, 1930 97

Mall, view from the Washington Monument, looking east 295

Mall, view from the Capitol dome, looking west 294

Mall, the, inundated 79

Mall and Monument Gardens, plan of 1901 88

Mall, plan of the 90

Mall, the, showing railroad tracks crossing it 78

Meridian Hill Park, lower garden 156

Meridian Hill Park, upper garden 156

Mount Vernon 125

Mount Vernon from the air 124

Mount Vernon Memorial Highway 118

Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, bridge over Hunting Creek 121

Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, north of Little Hunting Creek 117

Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, bridge over Boundary Channel 119

Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, underpass at highway bridge 121

National Archives Building 282

National Archives Building, mural paintings in 283

National Gallery of Art 281

National Geographic Society 278

National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception 287

New Hampshire Avenue 144

Octagon House 174

Old Tobacco Barn (old Christ Church) 188

Park areas acquired to July 1, 1938 149

Patent Office Building, Old 198

Pennsylvania Avenue, plan of 1910, plan for developing south side 293

Pennsylvania Avenue, between the Treasury and the Capitol 298

Pennsylvania Railroad Station, old 77

Pulaski, statue of Gen. Casimir 332

Rock Creek Church 186

Rock Creek Park, map of 158

Senate Chamber 230

Senate Chamber, 1830 168

Senate Office Building 232

Six Buildings, the 36

Smithsonian Institution 255

Soldiers’ Home, United States 212

St. John’s Church 191

St. John’s Church, early view of 192

State Building, Department of, 1801 265

State Building, Department of, when remodeled 264

Thornton, Dr. William 197

Treasury Building, Department of the 270

Treasury Building, Department of the, 1855 52

Treasury Building, site and material for, 1839 47

Triangle group of public buildings along Constitution Avenue 280

Tripoli Column, at Annapolis, Md 320

Tudor Place, showing gardens on the east side 187

Tudor Place, Thirty-first and Q Streets 185

Unknown Soldier of the World War, the Tomb of the 314

Union Square, plan of 1901 86

Union Station 234

Union Station, concourse 236

Union Station, waiting room 238

Union Station and Plaza, looking north from the dome of the
Capitol 300

United States Supreme Court Building 302

United States Supreme Court Chamber 303

Van Ness Mansion 177

Wakefield, at Popes Creek, Westmoreland County, Va 127

Wakefield, Washington family burying ground 129

Washington and Wakefield, map showing 128

Washington, 1852 50

Washington, 1890 62

Washington and environs, regional plan of 104

Washington Cathedral 285

Washington Cathedral, interior 286

Washington City Post Office 242

Washington, early, showing the Jefferson poplars 38

Washington, view of early 34

Washington from Arlington Heights, 1865 55

Washington from Arlington, plan of 1901 76

Washington from the President’s House, 1830 44

Washington, the future 94

Washington in 1792 12

Washington in embryo 14

Washington, looking north from the White House 70

Washington, looking south from Sixteenth Street and Columbia Road 71

Washington, model of the future, plan of 1901 75

Washington, model of, showing conditions in 1901 74

Washington, George, Houdon bust of 122

Washington, George, statue of 322

Washington, George, statue of Gen. 318

Washington, tomb of 126

Washington Monument, the 208

Washington Monument, as seen from the Mall grounds 206

Washington Monument, plan of the, by Robert Mills 200

Washington Monument, uncompleted, as it appeared from 1852-78 204

Washington Monument, under construction, 1872 202

Washington Monument, view northwest from the 274

Water front, plan for improvement of the 112

White House, early view of the 170

White House, north side 262

White House, view showing terrace on south side, 1827 172

Witherspoon, statue of John 329

World’s Columbian Exposition, Court of Honor, looking east 66

World’s Columbian Exposition, Court of Honor, looking west 67

Zero milestone 336