Washington [antikvár]

Ir^trodiictioi^TTMERICA'S Federal capital, Washington, D.C., is undoubtedly among the more pleasant of the world's^capital cities: broad, tree-lined streets and avenues, plenty of parks and open spaces, not too many dominant and insistent giant office blocks to spoil the proportions of the dignified classical-style public buildings, and an on-the-whole placid, friendly front presented to the worldIt is also unique among the great cities of the world: a seat of government, a large city with a growing population, and a symbol of national pride all at the same time, it was the first national capital to be consciously planned as such. Perhaps to men who had just framed a Constitution that would shape the future of a whole nation, the deliberate planning of a capital city seemed nothing extraordinary but it was not until well into the twentieth century that other nations were willing to assume the same tremendous challenge.The United States Congress decided in July 1790, that the new seat of government should be situated on the Potomac River, between the states of Maryland and Virginia - a compromise area, in fact, between the states of the North and of the South. Hitherto, Congress had met at Philadelphia, among other towns. Other states were vying for the privilege of housing the nation's capital, and it was hoped that an entirely new town in its own federal enclave would resolve the squabbling. The city would be called Washington, in honor of the nation's first President and the district which encompassed it would be named Columbia, after Christopher Columbus.The state of Maryland contributed 69 square miles of its territory to form the District of Columbia, and the state of Virginia nearly 31 square miles. Thus Washington, D.C. came into being: a fairly flat area of orchards, tobacco fields, plantations and swamp set on the banks of a river which took its name from the Indian word for 'trading place' -potomack.George Washington is said to have been modestly embarrassed that the new capital was being named after him- He was, however; not so embarrassed that he would not give the city the best possible chance to succeed He commissioned a brilliant French army engineer, Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant, who had fought on the side of the colonies in the War of Independence, to draw up a plan for the new city. Although LEnfant was relieved of the commission after a year because he refused to hurry the job and it was also proving to be very expensive, it is his basic plan which has given Washington its present-day layout.In the 1790s, the plan seemed grandiose in the extreme for what was then and was to remain for decades a small town in the eyes of the world "Few people would live in Washington, I take it, who were not obliged to live there " reported Charles Dickens in 1842. Major LEnfant drew up a plan for a city based on a grid system. The resulting blocks were broken by diagonal streets andThe star-spangled banner left is one of fifty placed at the base of the Washington Monument in representation ofthe States of America.avenues of splendid width, with squares and circles, or rond-points, at intervals to add interest. The open vistas along the great avenues would be splendid indeed, as befitted the capital of a great nation.In any event, the city planners have been proved right. Washington has grown even to surpass the original grand conception and UEnfant's plans, rediscovered in the 1880s, have provided the impetus for much of the twentieth-century town planning in WashingtoiLThe grid system is basic to Washington's street layout. The streets miming east and west of the Capitol Building have been numbered: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc., and those running north and south have been given letters: A Street, B Street, C Street etc. The avenues cutting diagonally across the grid are named after States: Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Colorado.The city has been further divided into four recognized areas, or quadrants, with Capitol Hill at its center. Lines drawn north and south, east and west through the Capitol spUt the city into the northwest (NW), northeast (NE), southwest (SW) and southeast (SE) quadrants, and these designations are essential parts of all city addresses. The northeast and southeast quadrants are largely residential areas; the southwest quadrant has seen the largest amount of urban renewal and slum clearance in the city; and the northwest quadrant is where most things happen, for this area contains many of the monuments and buildings which attract visitors to Washington, most of the hotels, and the best shops and restaurants.