Talk:Pierre Charles L'Enfant

Plan of Washington Appendix?

Does anyone know any map of his that's labeled? I don't know what some of the monuments and significant buildings are like the building/squares along the canal.

Anyway, I thought it would be important to put that up. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.141.107.107 (talk) 22:41, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Indianapolis

I was told that he also designed Indianapolis, which also looks like it had more early planning than many cities, and also has major streets at 45-degree angles to most of the rest. The dates aren't completely absurd. Anyone know? --Jerzy(t) 21:10, 2004 May 13 (UTC)

African descent?

Was L'Enfant of African ancestry? I thought I read somewhere that he was. If so, it's worth inclusion, especially considering that most African Americans were living in slavery at the time he was designing Washington, D.C.

You might be thinking of Benjamin Banneker, who is also noted in the lay out of Washington, Bannaker was of African descent.

John Jay animosity

Somebody told me that DC's streets are purposely missing a "J Street" because L'Enfant hated John Jay. Any truth to this speculation? Taco325i 20:14, 19 April 2006 (UTC)

No, I think that the President at the time hated Jay, but I'm not sure -- I live here though, and there is no J Street.

The real reason is that I and J in Roman numerals of the time were so similar that J was avoided so as to not create confusion. See Bordewich's Washington (2008). (around page 240, but I can no longer find the original text) --Daysleeper47 (talk) 00:02, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

bias

The phrase "His adopted nation finally recognizing his genius" is a bit biased

American citizen

did L'Enfant ever become a US citizen or did he just live in the US? Thanks Hmains 22:15, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

back then, there was no clear notion of citizenship as we understand it today. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 132.230.30.117 (talk) 10:42, 30 October 2009 (UTC)

American citizen: NO When I read "Nationality: American - Ethnicity French American" I am appealed! At this time a French born will die French unless he had betrayed the crown. Meanwhile Pierre Charles L'Enfant son of the court painter of the same name, has never been reported as a traitor and has never been shun by the King of France. With a broader look of the times of Pierre Charles L'Enfant, it cannot be denied he may have stay in the newly established USA due to trouble occurring in France, ruined by its effort to support the colony against the crown of England - overlooking its own growing issues in the kingdom. The only French inheritance Pierre Charles L'Enfant is his particle and title of nobility. That say: Pierre Charles L'Enfant is born French - Ethnicity Caucasian - Died Franco-American. by C. de L. Franco-American citizen

Indianapolis

No where does this article note his contribution to the planning and founding of Indianpolis.Moonraker0022 09:20, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

L'Enfant had no connection with Indianapolis. His only city planning work, aside from Washington, was at Paterson, NJ, in 1792. He was fired from the work at Paterson, and none of his work is known to have survived. 76.114.206.62 (talk) 01:27, 28 December 2009 (UTC) Don Alexander Hawkins

Burial Location

i thought l'enfant was buried in front of Arlington House in arlington national cemetery, not "buried at the farm of a friend in Prince George's County, Maryland." can someone please confirm this?

According to a recent CSPAN talk by Don Alexander Hawkins, L'Enfant was originally buried in an unmarked grave in a cemetery for poor whites and African-Americans in Maryland. What was believed to be his remains were disinterred in the 20th century and reburied in front of Arlington House, on a rise above President Kennedy's grave with an excellent view of Washington, reachable only by climbing over a rope meant to prevent access to that area. Unfortunately, I don't have a more precise citation. — Joe Kress (talk) 18:35, 24 March 2015 (UTC)

I misspoke. The historian was Scott Berg, author of Grand Avenues: The story of Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the French visionary who designed Washington, D.C., whose book discussion can be viewed on CSPAN.org. Nevertheless, he repeatedly cited Don Alexander Hawkins. I now see that this information is in Legacy, the heading immediately below Death, and his book is in References. I'm adding the entry for L'Enfant on the website of the Arlington National Cemetery to the article as a note. — Joe Kress (talk) 19:42, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

Portrait

Only one image of L'Enfant is known to exist: a profile silhouette cut from paper by Sarah deHart, the daughter of the Governor of New Jersey in the early 1780's. It is part of a framed collage at the National Museum of American Art in Washington, DC. The image on the first page of this article was made up out of whole cloth around the turn of the 20th century. 76.114.206.62 (talk) 01:09, 28 December 2009 (UTC)Don Alexander Hawkins

This is true, the portrait in the article is definitely NOT Pierre L'Enfant. I was commissioned to create an accurate portrait of L'Enfant and I found the silhouette as well as a very good pastel portrait of L'Enfant's father. By combining those references, I was able to produce a likeness that is now commonly used in publications about L'Enfant.

Bryan Leister —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.9.154.93 (talk) 17:55, 6 August 2010 (UTC)