For the People: National Identity Through 5 D.C. Civic Landmarks
As the capital of the United States, Washington, D.C. communicates our nation’s founding principles through its architecture and urban design. Pierre Charles L’Enfant, the city planner chosen by George Washington, built the city “around the idea that every citizen was equally important,” symbolized by “a great public walk,” open to all, where generations of Americans have exercised their rights to freedom of speech and assembly. In further recognition that power in the United States resides in the people, L’Enfant placed Congress, not the president’s house, on a high hill overlooking the Potomac.
photo by: Library of Congress
A zoomed in and detailed view of one of the earliest extant plans of Washington D.C., known as "The L'Enfant Plan. c.1791. Note the notations for the President's House (upper left) and Congress House which is the United States Capitol building (middle right).
The architectural features of significant buildings also embody the idea that our government is of and by the people. These are places where the tenets of our democratic republic take shape and where our ideas about power find material expression. They belong to all of us and not to any single party or administration.
As Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, said, "as the United States prepares to mark its 250th anniversary, these places invite us to reflect on our aspirations as a nation and on our shared responsibility to safeguard what future generations will inherit. Once irreversible changes are made to an historic structure, there is no going back, and we risk undermining not only the physical coherence of our capital city but also our shared understanding of who we are as a people."
photo by: Library of Congress
Plan of the city of Washington. An annotation presumes this to be a copy of the final printed version of the L'Enfant Plan printed in 1794.
photo by: Library of Congress
The National Mall as proposed by Pierre L'Enfant 1790, from the original. This copy was developed in 1900 from the L'Enfant plan of the whole city and enlarged for the report of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
This Preservation Month, the National Trust for Historic Preservation is taking a closer look at five remarkable civic spaces and landscapes—places that have shaped American democracy and that hold meaning far beyond the borders of the Nation’s Capital.
As you explore these historic sites, we ask you to consider what places in your community define your civic identity. What would you fight to protect?
Come back each week as we explore a new civic landmark in Washington D.C. For more follow us on Instagram @savingplaces.
Arlington National Cemetery to Lincoln Memorial
photo by: Kelly Paras
To date, over 400,000 individuals are laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.
Located just over the border in Virginia, the site now known as Arlington National Cemetery was once a plantation founded by George Washington Parke Custis, Martha Washington’s grandson. The plantation passed down to Custis’ only daughter, Mary, who had married Robert E. Lee—and over time, the Custis-Lee family enslaved over 100 people at the site.
On April 20, 1861, following Virginia’s secession from the Union, the Union Army gained control of the site for its strategic position protecting Washington, D.C.
In 1863, a portion of the former plantation was home to formerly enslaved people in an area known as “Freedman’s Village,” which remained through 1900. In 1864, the site became a national cemetery, eventually holding the remains of approximately 16,000 Civil War soldiers.
photo by: Kelly Paras
View of Arlington House from the grounds of the cemetery.
photo by: Kelly Paras
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
In 1932, Arlington National Cemetery became the southern anchor for the Arlington Memorial Bridge. With the recently completed Lincoln Memorial (1914), it created a physical expression of national reconciliation, stretching across the Potomac and connecting the Union and the Confederacy in a gesture of healing.
Today this viewshed continues to honor those who, in Lincoln’s words, gave “the last full measure of devotion.” In 2022, descendants of Robert E. Lee and those enslaved at the estate—the Parks, Grays, and Syphaxes—came together at Arlington House in a remarkable act of reconciliation.
It is because this viewshed carries so much meaning that the National Trust has raised concerns about a proposed “Triumphal Arch,” whose scale, location, and design will disrupt this important visual and symbolic vista. The Arch will dwarf the Lincoln Memorial and disrupt the long, open, and uninterrupted viewsheds, overwhelming the entry to Arlington National Cemetery.
photo by: joeshlabotnik via Flickr CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
A 2016 view of Arlington National Cemetery looking west from the Lincoln Memorial. Straight ahead is the Military Women's Memorial with Arlington House above.
The White House
Presented the Week of May 11.
The National Mall
Presented the Week of May 18.
The Supreme Court
Presented the Week of May 25.
The United States Capitol
Presented the Week of June 1.
