L'Enfant Maps Out DC (1791) w/ Scott W Berg

It’s July 6th. Today we revisit our conversation about how Washington DC came to be the nations capitol, with a look at Pierre Charles L'Enfant and how he originally conceived of the city’s layout.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by George Mason professor Scott W Berg to discuss the European inspiration for L’Enfant’s layout, and how he hoped to inspire drama and wonder through the city’s streets and circles.

Scott’s book on L’Enfant is called Grand Avenues: The Story of Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the French Visionary Who Designed Washington, D.C.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia