urban renewal Archives - Ghosts of DC

Fedlandia Emerges from L’Enfant Plaza: From Southwest DC Neighborhood to the Future

April 17, 2026April 12, 2026 by ghostsofdc

Early 1962 vision of L'Enfant plaza (AI-generated by Nano Banana)

Before L’Enfant Plaza’s Brutalist towers, Southwest DC was a thriving neighborhood. We dug into the Evening Star archives to trace the full story, from the 1954 demolition to the Fedlandia proposals reshaping the area today.

Kennedy’s Lost 1964 Plan to Remake Pennsylvania Avenue

April 20, 2026April 22, 2014 by ghostsofdc

Photorealistic rendering of a proposed 1964 Pennsylvania Avenue redesign in Washington, D.C., showing a stepped public plaza with a central fountain, pedestrians, and two elevated modern office buildings framing a view toward a neoclassical federal building.

In 1964, Nathaniel Owings and a council appointed by JFK unveiled a radical plan to tunnel E Street, brick Pennsylvania Avenue, and build a National Square.