Which individual helped design the federal city utilizing Paris as inspiration?

Which individual helped design the federal city utilizing Paris as inspiration?

• A. Thomas Jefferson
• B. Pierre Charles L'Enfant
• C. Benjamin Banneker
• D. George Washington

Answer: (B)

Pierre Charles L’Enfant designed the federal city with a Paris-inspired layout. He proposed a grand, axial plan in 1791 that used wide, straight avenues and sightlines converging on key buildings, creating the ceremonial feel and European grandeur associated with Paris. This influence shaped how Washington, D.C. was laid out, with diagonals and axes that echo Parisian planning. Washington chose and approved the project, and Banneker helped with early surveying, but the distinctive design vision comes from L’Enfant.

Pierre Charles L’Enfant designed the federal city with a Paris-inspired layout. He proposed a grand, axial plan in 1791 that used wide, straight avenues and sightlines converging on key buildings, creating the ceremonial feel and European grandeur associated with Paris. This influence shaped how Washington, D.C. was laid out, with diagonals and axes that echo Parisian planning. Washington chose and approved the project, and Banneker helped with early surveying, but the distinctive design vision comes from L’Enfant.