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The Lost Surveyor History · Places · Better Maps

The Journal

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

Joseph Beckman 1 min read
Faded original 1791 manuscript plan for Washington, D.C., with streets, diagonal avenues and government sites.
On This Page
  1. 01 — Introduction
  2. 02 — Document
  3. 03 — Metadata
  4. 04 — Title
  5. 05 — Description
  6. 06 — Archive Identifier
  7. 07 — Creator
  8. 08 — Date as cataloged
  9. 09 — Geographic coverage
  10. 10 — Map type
  11. 11 — Source institution
  12. 12 — Source record
  13. 13 — Rights statement
  14. 14 — Rights evidence
  15. 15 — Credit line
  16. 16 — Curatorial note
  17. 17 — Original image
  18. 18 — Attachments

Document

Metadata

Title

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

Description

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.

Archive Identifier

LSM-LOC-88694205

Creator

Pierre Charles L’Enfant

Date as cataloged

1791

Source institution

Library of Congress

Source record

https://www.loc.gov/item/88694205/

Rights statement

Library of Congress states that its Geography and Map Division digitized content is free to use and reuse unless a contrary Rights Advisory is present. No contrary advisory was found on this item.

Rights evidence

https://www.loc.gov/item/88694205/

Credit line

Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division.

Curatorial note

Original 1791 manuscript, not a modern reconstruction. The sheet is faded, darkened and incomplete in places; some lines and text remain difficult to read even in the high-resolution source.

Original image

https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/gmd/gmd385/g3850/g3850/ct002167r.jp2

Attachments