By Jack Seufert, M.A. ’26, American Studies
London-born artist John Rubens Smith’s 1834 illustration of Washington captures change in the early city. The artwork depicts a newly paved and tree-lined Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington’s first major thoroughfare. The avenue’s long history of national parades and major events includes many construction projects that, across centuries, have transformed it into the landmark Americans recognize today.
Once the Residence Act of 1790 established the nation’s permanent capital on the Potomac River, George Washington chose Pierre “Peter” Charles L’Enfant to plan the federal city. L’Enfant insisted that Congress and the President’s House be separated, practically and symbolically discouraging congressmen from regularly visiting the latter. Between the two buildings, L’Enfant envisioned “a grand and majestic boulevard,” later named for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Some scholars argue the avenue’s name appeased Pennsylvanians after the nation’s capital moved from Philadelphia in 1800. Others view the name as more circumstantial — merely one from a list of the nation’s first states.
With the new city under construction, the avenue’s grand traditions began almost immediately. In September 1793, George Washington led a group of citizens up the avenue to lay the Capitol’s cornerstone, one of many parades to come. For centuries, Pennsylvania Avenue has hosted parades honoring significant events and people, from U.S. presidents to astronauts and war veterans. Developing a site fit for such celebrations has helped facilitate its transformation over time.
The avenue’s first improvements were practical and aesthetic. In the winter of 1801, Congress allocated $10,000 to install sidewalks. Members detested navigating the muddy avenue, which had been cleared of tree stumps. A newly elected Thomas Jefferson felt similarly and pushed for an additional $13,466.69 to install drains, plant Lombardy poplar trees and cover the avenue with gravel.
Jefferson’s improvements did not last. By 1820 the avenue’s gravel washed away, and locals cut down the poplar trees for firewood. In 1832 Congress appropriated $62,000 to pave the avenue in crushed stone. It was repaved with cobblestones in the 1840s, then wood, and eventually asphalt in the 1870s. All the while, technological advances in lighting transitioned the avenue’s street lamps from oil-fueled in 1801 to electricity by the 1890s. These gradual developments transformed Pennsylvania Avenue into Washington’s first bustling downtown street, but civil war and the turn of a new century left it in need of further care.
John F. Kennedy proved vital to Pennsylvania Avenue’s 20th-century revival. Upon his inauguration, he was discouraged by the avenue’s deterioration and took a vested interest in its restoration. Although Kennedy would not live to see the outcome of his efforts, he laid the groundwork for a critical agency. The Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation (established in 1972), along with a 1926 act allowing the federal government to purchase land on the avenue’s south side, helped revitalize what is now Federal Triangle.
John Rubens Smith’s illustration underscores the historical transformation of “America’s Main Street.” Since the capital’s founding, Pennsylvania Avenue has changed dramatically, revealing a twisted road to L’Enfant’s vision of a grand, majestic avenue.
Bibliography
Abbott, Carl. Political Terrain: Washington, D.C., from Tidewater Town to Global Metropolis. University of North Carolina Press, 1999.
Ashworth, Marjorie. Glory Road: Pennsylvania Avenue Past and Present. Link Press, 1986.
Cable, Mary. “Main Street of America.” American Heritage 20, no. 2, February 1969.
Cable, Mary. The Avenue of the Presidents. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1969.
Highsmith, Carol M., and Ted Landphair. Pennsylvania Avenue: America’s Main Street. American Institute of Architects Press, 1989.
Lee-Thorp, Vincent. Washington Engineered. Noble House, 2006.
Williams, Paul Kelsey. Lost Washington D.C. Pavillion Books, 2012.
This post was written in conjunction with the museum’s exhibition From A to DC: Transportation in Washington, an introduction to D.C.’s transportation history.
About the Author
Jack Seufert has a B.A. in English and history and is pursuing a master’s degree in American studies with a concentration in museums and material culture at GW. He enjoys researching historical artifacts and is interested in a public history career.
Header Image: John Rubens Smith, Washington, (detail) 1834. Albert H. Small Washingtoniana Collection AS 115.