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.
In the English alphabet, the letter J looked too much like the letter I, so Pierre L’Enfant omitted J street in DC.
Why is Washington, DC the capital? John Adams rode from Philadelphia to DC over an entire week. Read the story of his full journey.
19 original landowners were negotiated with, directly by George Washington in March, 1791. He met them during the day and in the evening, closed the deal with them at Suter’s Tavern in Georgetown.
Way back in the day, the building we now know as the White House was called the “President’s Palace”, “President’s Mansion”, or the “President’s House.” The nomenclature evolved over time, with the accepted name for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue becoming the
Who was the first mayor of Washington? It wasn’t Walter Washington or Marion Barry. Have you hear of Robert Brent? He was Thomas Jefferson’s friend.
Do you know why it’s named Constitution Avenue? There’s an interesting story behind it which includes the state of Wisconsin.
