Peculiarities of American Cities

by Willard W. Glazier

WASHINGTON.

Situation of the National Capital.—Site Selected by Washington.—Statues of General Andrew Jackson, Scott, McPherson, Rawlins.—Lincoln Emancipation Group.—Navy Yard Bridge.—Capitol Building.—The White House.—Department of State, War and Navy.—The Treasury Department.—Patent Office.—Post Office Department.—Agricultural Building.—Army Medical Museum.—Government Printing Office.—United States Barracks.—Smithsonian Institute.—National Museum.—The Washington Monument.—Corcoran Art Gallery.—National Medical College.—Deaf and Dumb Asylum.—Increase of Population.—Washington's Future Greatness.

Washington, the Capital of the United States of America, is situated in the District of Columbia, on the left bank of the Potomac, between the Anacostia or eastern branch of that river, and about one hundred and eighty-five miles from the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. At an early period, indeed, before the clamor of war had fairly ceased, or the proud standard of England had been driven from its shores, the necessity of a territory which should be under the exclusive jurisdiction of Congress had engaged the attention of the founders of the new Republic. The possession of such a territory formed an important feature in the debates upon the framing of the Constitution, and it was only forty-eight days after the last act of ratification that the Capital City was, by solemn enactment of Congress, located on the eastern shore of the beautiful Potomac.

The site of the Capital was selected by General Washington, the beloved first President of the Republic, and covers an undulating tract on the east bank of the river. From the rugged elevations on the borders of Rock Creek, a crescent-shaped ridge crosses the northern portion of the city, which is abruptly sundered, as it were, to admit the passage of a small stream called the Tiber. From this point the ridge ascends, gradually expanding into the extensive plateau of Capitol Hill, overlooking the Anacostia on the east. Within this encircling ridge the surface declines, in gentle slopes and terraces, down to the banks of the Potomac. From the lower falls of the river at Georgetown, beyond the outlying spurs of the Blue Ridge, a chain of low wooded hills extend across the north, which, continuing along the opposite shores of the Anacostia and Potomac, emerge again in the hills on the Virginia side of that river, presenting the appearance of a vast amphitheatre, in the centre of which stands the Capitol.

The mean altitude of the city is about forty feet above the ordinary low tide of the Potomac; the soil on which it is built is generally a yellowish-clay intermixed with gravel. In making excavations for wells and cisterns, near New Jersey avenue, trees were found, in a good state of preservation, at a depth of from six to forty-eight feet below the surface.

The Tiber, a little stream, with its tributaries, passes through the city. Tradition affirms that this stream received its name more than a century before Washington city was founded, in the belief and with the prediction that there would arise on its banks, in the future, a Capital destined to rival in magnificent grandeur that which crowned the banks of its great historic namesake. The streams forming this river have their source among the hills to the east, and enter the city in several directions, the principal branch winding off to the southwest, around the base of Capitol Hill, across Pennsylvania avenue, to the Botanical Gardens. Originally its course continued along the Mall and emptied into the Potomac immediately west of the Washington Monument, but subsequently it was diverted into the canal, the filling up of which caused still other changes. The Tiber and its tributaries were utilized by diverting them into the sewerage system of the central and southern portions of the city; consequently, although the stream traverses one of the most populous sections, its course is not visible, the current flowing beneath heavy brick arches upon which buildings have been erected, and avenues, streets and parks laid out. In primitive days the banks of the Tiber were covered with heavy forests, while shad, herring and other fish, in their season, were taken from its waters, under the very shadow of the hill upon which the Capitol now stands.

There is no city in the Union which presents to the thoughtful and truly patriotic American so many objects of interest as does the city of Washington. First of all, this feeling is intensified by the fact of its having been located and founded by the great, immortal Pater Patriæ whose illustrious name it has the honor of bearing. A plan of the city was prepared in 1791, by Peter L'Enfant, a French engineer of fine education and decided genius, who had served in the Continental army with such distinction as to attract the attention of General Washington. He was assisted in the work by the advice and suggestions of Thomas Jefferson, who, while diplomatic representative of the United States, had studied the plans of the principal cities visited in Europe, with a view to the future wants of his country, and was prepared, by the aid of his personal knowledge of their details, to contribute valuable information and suggestions.

It is evident that the predominating object in designing a plan for the city, was first to secure the most eligible situations for the different public buildings, and to arrange the squares and areas so that the most extended views might be obtained from every direction. The amplest arrangements were also made by the founders of Washington for its rapid growth and expansion, while they evidently designed and anticipated its being magnificently built up and embellished. The indifference of the Government and people has permitted these suggestions to remain too long unheeded; yet it is consoling to those possessing an intelligent patriotism and proud love of country, to know that the neglected condition of the Capital of the United States for nearly three-fourths of a century was not the result of any defect in the design originated by its noble founders.

Any one who has visited the royal residence of the kings of France, will immediately recognize the resemblance between the plans of Le Notre for Versailles, and L'Enfant for Washington City. The grand avenues, de Sceaux and St. Cloud, diverging from the Cour Royal, are reproduced in Pennsylvania and Maryland avenues, radiating from the east front of the Capitol. Its broad thoroughfares are among the principal attractions of Washington, and are the finest possessed by any city in the world. The avenues, twenty-one in number, radiate from principal centres and connect different parts of the city; the original number was thirteen, named for the States constituting the Union at the time the Capital was laid out. The first in importance is Pennsylvania avenue; its width varies from one hundred and sixty to one hundred and eighty feet; its length is four and one-half miles, traversing the finest business portion of the city, as well as being the most popular and fashionable thoroughfare for driving. The War and Treasury departments, Washington Circle, and the President's House, are each located on this superb street, which, winding up and around Capitol Hill, finds its terminus on the banks of the Anacostia.

The spaces at the intersection of the more important avenues form what are called Circles. Washington Circle, at the intersection of Pennsylvania and New Hampshire avenues, contains the equestrian statue of General Washington, which was ordered by Congress, and cannon donated for the purpose, in 1853. The great hero is represented at the crisis of the battle of Princeton; the horse seems shrinking from the storm of shot and shell and the fiery conflict confronting him; his rider exhibits that calm equanimity of bearing so eminently his characteristic. This statue was executed by Clark Mills, at a cost of fifty thousand dollars.