WASHINGTON DESIGN OF THE FEDERAL CITY | 1981

This work presents a richly illustrated and archival‐grounded examination of the design of the national capital, Washington, D.C., focusing on the early planning and architectural vision of the “federal city”. Built from documents in the National Archives and Records Service, it traces the formal development of the city’s layout, the influence of Pierre Charles L’Enfant’s original plan, and the symbolic intent of the new republic in its urban design. Through maps, engravings and historic im-ages, the book illustrates how the city was conceived as a monumental and representational capital, linking urban planning, federal architecture, and national identity in the early United States. It contributes to the field of urban history and architectural symbolism by documenting how the city’s design served ideological as well as functional purposes.