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Grand Avenues: The Story of the French Visionary Who Designed Washington, D.C.
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 711.4092
EAN: 9780375422805
ISBN: 0375422803
Label: Pantheon
Manufacturer: Pantheon
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 352
Publication Date: February 13, 2007
Publisher: Pantheon
Release Date: February 13, 2007
Studio: Pantheon
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Editorial Review:
Grand Avenues tells the riveting story of Pierre Charles L’Enfant and the creation of Washington D.C.--from the seeds of his inspiration to the fulfillment of his extraordinary vision.L’Enfant’s story is one of consuming passion, high emotion, artistic genius, and human frailty. As a boy he studied drawing at the most prestigious art institute in the world. As a young man he left his home in Paris to volunteer in the army of the American colonies, where he served under George Washington. There he would also meet many of the people who would have a profound impact on his life, including Alexander Hamilton and James Monroe. And it was Washington himself who, in 1791, entrusted L’Enfant with the planning of the nation’s capital--and reluctantly allowed him to be dismissed from the project eleven months later. The plan for the city was published under another name, and for the remainder of his life L’Enfant fought for recognition of his achievement. But he would not live to see that day, and a century would pass before L’Enfant would be given credit for his brilliant design.Scott W. Berg recounts this tale, richly evocative of time and place, with the narrative verve of a novel and with a cast of characters that ranges from Thomas Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers to the surveyor who took credit for L’Enfant’s plans, the assistant who spent a week in jail for his loyalty to L’Enfant, and the men who finally restored L’Enfant’s reputation at the beginning of the twentienth century.Here is a fascinating, little-explored episode in American history: the story of a visionary artist and of the founding of the magnificent city that is his enduring legacy.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - The Talent and Temperament of Pierre Charles L'Enfant
This is an insightful book that sheds the spotlight on the planning of our infant nation's capitol city. The central planner in this was the French born Pierre Charles L'Enfant. Berg traces L'Enfant's early years in Paris, his artistic training there, to his joining in the American War for Independence, to his appointment as chief planner for the new federal capitol city on the Potomoc River.
I found the story of his background in France most interesting as we learn of L'Enfant's father's ... Read More
Rating: - An Earlier Gift From France
Most people today would not know of the controversy and opposition to the Statue of Liberty, and the efforts and struggles it took to make a suitable platform for it. Similarly, the full story of L'Enfant's contributions to the original design of Washington, DC, was lost for almost a century before being restored. The US Government was very small in 1791, when work was started on the new capital's design, and one of the more interesting aspects of this historical narrative is the small cast of characters ... Read More
Rating:  - American Child
Berg has written a fabulous book of popular history, full of intriguing anecdotes and fascinating glimpses of G. Washington, T. Jefferson, and J. Monroe, among others. Perhaps by favorite aspect of "Avenues" is the hissy-fit relationship between L'enfant (architect of DC) and Jefferson, a builder in his own right who despised L'enfant for his petulance, arrogance, and bullheadedness. (At least two of these qualities can be attributed to Jeff, as well.)
I've been visiting DC since I was a boy, ... Read More
Rating: - "City of Magnificent Intentions": The Planning of the American Capitol
GRAND AVENUES depicts the genius of Pierre Charles L'Enfant and his artistry in designing the capital city of the United States. Rich with biographical, political and historical detail, Scott W. Berg has included 25 black-and-white illustrations that will intrigue Washingtonians, city planners, history buffs and architects. In 1790, Thomas Jefferson commissioned L'Enfant to "provide aid in the form of drawings of the particular grounds most likely to be approved for the site of the federal towns and buildings." ... Read More
Rating: - Remembering a forgotten man
This is an interesing story of how the basic plan for Washington, D. C. was formed. Pierre L'Enfant, a major in the Revolutionary Army worked with George Washington himself in the original design. L'Enfant was the graduate of excellent design schools in Paris, and he had been trained by his father. He had to fight off the influence of Thomas Jefferson the opponent of Washington and Hamilton in this project. His tenure on the project was short. Politics and land speculation was what really drove the process, ... Read More
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