Plan of the city intended for the permanent seat of the government of the United States

Image file

Original 1791 plan for the permanent seat of the United States government

Caption

Original 1791 manuscript plan. Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division. The surviving sheet is faded and damaged in places.

Catalog notes

A national capital appears here as a deliberate design rather than an accumulated city. Pierre Charles L’Enfant’s 1791 manuscript plan connects streets, broad avenues and public sites, revealing the relationship between geometry and civic symbolism. The surviving sheet also shows the physical history of a heavily used document: fading, tears, missing areas and conservation supports remain visible. The image preserves that condition without digitally reconstructing the original design.

Original catalog record, source and attribution