The Washington Monument exemplifies a public space that is successful despite veering off from the intentions of the designer. When Washington was chosen as the nation’s capital, Charles Pierre L’Enfant proposed a master plan to George Washington for the city that echoed the young nation’s fundamental and constitutional principles. However, in a letter to Washington, L’Enfant wrote that in the master plan he “laid out on a dimension proportioned to the greatness which [. . .] the Capital of a powerful Empire ought to manifest.” With this proposal, one of America’s first public spaces would be a tangible representation of the country’s biggest fear: an omnipotent empire. Many parts of L’Enfant’s plan were rejected for this very reason, including a statue dedicated to Washington that sparked one of the first debates about public monuments in the nation. The …show more content…
This rejection of one of the first public monuments foreshadowed a spirit of similar debate that would endure for centuries about public space and what is symbolizes. It was not until after Washington’s death that a new monument was proposed to honor the general. This proposal sparked a different debate, this time bringing to light the question about private versus public space. Judge Bushrod Washington, nephew of George Washington, wanted the late president’s remains to stay in the family’s private vault, whereas Congress wanted to erect a crypt in the center of the Capitol’s dome. Again, people rejected this proposal citing that its monarchical imagery promoted the idealization of Washington, making him appear to be a “divine figure.” Despite trying to make the capitol’s public spaces democratic and reflective of the new nation’s values, L’Enfant’s intent for the city was changing before his planned spaces were even