Note 80 — Chapter XI · MUNICIPAL PROBLEMS OF TODAY
Reading edition
More than a hundred and twenty-five years ago, when it was decided to build the nation’s capital on the shores of the Potomac, President Washington sent to France for Major L’Enfant, an engineer who had served in the American army during the Revolution, and entrusted to him the task of laying out the new city. L’Enfant took great pains to provide for wide streets; he designated the location of the important public buildings (such as the Capitol and the White House) and left plenty of open spaces in his plan.