Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
4.3.2.2
Further Development of the Axis Line and the Objective Effects
of the Main Buildings
L'Enfant's blueprint for the design of Washington and his concept of building the
city had not been appropriately noticed and appreciated for the entire century
that followed. And the person who made such an outstanding contribution to the
construction of Washington hadn't received appropriate acknowledgement in his
lifetime either. He was very poor and destitute in the last years of his life. It was only
with the fi nancial aid and a piece of land offered by one of his friends that his body
could be buried. Not until the beginning of this century were his talent and achieve-
ment acknowledged and his remains were moved to the National Cemetery of
Arlington and buried on top of the hill in 1909. On the headstone was carved the
draft plan of the capital as a memorial to his achievement. Looking to the east from
the tomb of L'Enfant, one can see the Mall situated on the original axis line as
designed by him across the Potomac between the Lincoln Memorial and the United
States Capitol. In fact, one can see all the important buildings laid out on the plan.
Indeed, there is no better place for L'Enfant to have his permanent rest.
It seems advisable for us to recall some of the incidents that occurred during the
100 years of the nineteenth century on the Mall to the west of Capitol Hill:
Firstly, L'Enfant's plan to canalize the Tiber River to reach the foot of Capitol
Hill had never been taken into serious consideration. As a result, the Tiber had
become a stinky sewer for litter and rubbish and was fi lled up and abandoned later.
What remained to the date is a small sluice shed not far from the White House,
marking the originally designated site of the canal.
Secondly, the Smithsonian Institution was built in 1847 without reference to
L'Enfant's design of the boundary of the Mall, and the Institution went so far as
to be situated inside the Mall. A proposal had once been made to tear down the
building, but was turned down for the preservation of historical relics and
architecture.
Thirdly, the designated location of the White House was moved further westward
to its present site.
Fourthly, the present Washington Monument is not built on the originally planned
spot due to the weak foundation there. It is now 40 m south to the original site, and
therefore not on the city's central axis line according to the original design. Nor
does it fall on the perpendicular line leading southward from the White House, but
is 120 m to the east of that line. However, one would have such a visual impression
that the Monument is on the horizontal axis line.
Lastly and the most importantly, the marshy lowland to the south of the western
extreme of the axis on the eastern shore of the Potomac has been reclaimed. Thus
the original axis line between the two rivers of the Potomac and the Anacostia was
prolonged from 5.5 to 7.3 km. Meanwhile, the broad riverbed of the Potomac was
utilized and a narrow stretch of land reclaimed along the eastern shore from south
to north, which is the present Potomac River Park beautifully dotted with lakes
(Figs.
4.7
and
4.8
).
