Building Washington

Engineering and Construction of the New Federal City, 1790-1840
Erscheinungsjahr 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4214-2487-3
Verlag: Johns Hopkins University Press

Buch, Englisch, 384 Seiten, Format (B × H): 220 mm x 287 mm, Gewicht: 1588 g

A richly illustrated behind-the-scenes tour of how the nation’s capital was built.

In 1790, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson set out to build a new capital for the United States of America in just ten years. The area they selected on the banks of the Potomac River, a spot halfway between the northern and southern states, had few resources or inhabitants. Almost everything needed to build the federal city would have to be brought in, including materials, skilled workers, architects, and engineers. It was a daunting task, and these American Founding Fathers intended to do it without congressional appropriation.

Robert J. Kapsch’s beautifully illustrated book chronicles the early planning and construction of our nation’s capital. It shows how Washington, DC, was meant to be not only a government center but a great commercial hub for the receipt and transshipment of goods arriving through the Potomac Canal, then under construction. Picturesque plans would not be enough; the endeavor would require extensive engineering and the work of skilled builders.

By studying an extensive library of original documents—from cost estimates to worker time logs to layout plans—Kapsch has assembled a detailed account of the hurdles that complicated this massive project. While there have been many books on the architecture and planning of this iconic city, Building Washington explains the engineering and construction behind it.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Kapsch, Robert J

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Amerikanische Geschichte
• Technische Wissenschaften Technik Allgemein Technikgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Architektur Städtebau, Stadtplanung (Architektur)
• Geisteswissenschaften Architektur Geschichte der Architektur, Baugeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Timeline
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I
1. Pierre L’Enfant’s Two Plans for Executing the President’s Vision
2. Financing the Federal City
3. Constructing the Federal City
4. Developing a Commercial Center
5. Early Infrastructure and Transport Improvements
6. Building Military Defenses for the Capital
Part II
7. The First Public Building Campaign (1791-1802)
8. The Second Public Building Campaign (1803-1811)
9. The Third Public Building Campaign (1815-1824)
10. Later Transportation Improvements
Epilogue
Bibliography
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Kapsch, Robert J
Robert J. Kapsch is a researcher and principal of the Center for Historic Engineering and Architecture. He is the author of The Potomac Canal: George Washington and the Waterway West, Historic Canals and Waterways of South Carolina, and Over the Alleghenies: Early Canals and Railroads of Pennsylvania.