Pierre L'Enfant had originally planned the City of Washington around a right triangle, with the eastern portion at the Capitol, the northern portion at the White House and the 90 degree angle close to where the Washington Monument sits today. Thomas Jefferson marked this spot in 1793 with a wooden post, which was replaced in 1804 with the Jefferson Pier.

Discover the plan for the federal city with a terrific old map from the Library of Congress. Explore the projected layout of the city to gain insight into the history of the United States.

Constitution Avenue used to be named B Streets. That wasn't impressive enough so Congress had a few options.

In the English alphabet, the letter J looked too much like the letter I, so Pierre L'Enfant omitted J street in DC.