The Paving Stone Archaeological Site

The Paving Stone Archaeological Site (HM2IPJ)

Location:
Buy flags at Flagstore.com!

N 38° 52.672', W 76° 59.616'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 234 views
Inscription

Virginia Avenue, SE

Diagonal Virginia Avenue, SE and rectangular Virginia Avenue Park are two of the many features that characterize the L'Enfant Plan. Eventually, cut granite block paving stones were installed on Virginia Avenue, SE and most likely due to the post-Civil War roadway improvements (1870s) implemented by DC Governor Alexander Robey "Boss" Shepherd.

In 2009, intact segments of the cut granite block-paved Virginia Avenue, SE were encountered east of 11th Street, SE beneath two feet of fill. The cut granite block paving stones were dry laid and averaged 4 inches by 12 inches in size and 6 inches in height. A segment of smaller blue scoria brick was found on the south side of the stone-paved roadwday. The blue scoria brick were made from slag, a by-product of the iron melting process, in Middlesbrough, England in 1872. The first shimpement of scoria brick arrived in Washington, DC, in 1910.

In 2015, more extensive intact segments of the granite paving stones were uncovered at depths down to 5 feet below grade. Some segments were underlain with large wood beams in the wetter areas to prevent the paving stones from sinking into the mud. Recorded as the Virginia Avenue Paving Site (archaeological site 51SE062), the segments extended about 650 feet cast from 11th STreet, SE along the original road alignment established



by L'Enfant.

Although Virginia Avenue, SE did not extend through Virginia Avenue Park, a segment of the 1870s granite paving has been reconstructed here to provide both past and present perspectives on road alignment and vista originally conceived by L'Enfant.

[Reverse]
The L'Enfant Plan
Virginia Avenue, SE


The design for the street grid for the City of Washington, DC was based upon the baroque L'Enfant Plan, developed and drafted by Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant (1754-1825), a French engineer who served in the Revolutionary War. After the war, President George Washington granted a request by L'Enfant to develop a plan for the new capital city. Inspired by the gardens at the Palace of Versailles, L'Enfant proposed an orthogonal grid of north-south streets (with numbers as their names) and east-west streets (with letters as their names). A series of diagonal avenues (named after states of the union such as Virginia Avenue) were superimposed over the grid.

The diagonal avenues were aligned with monuments and landmark buildings creating important vistas. The middle portion of the plan contained ceremonial parks and green spaces with the United States Capitol Building at the center point. The major meeting points of the orthogonal and diagonal streets contain monumental circles. Numerous small



triangular-shaped parks and reservations occur at other intersections.

The L'Enfant Plan was completed gradually over a period of more than one hundred years. In 1901-1902, the McMillan Commission Plan proposed changes to the Mall while respecting the L'Enfant Plan. Together these two plans are referred to collectively as "The Plan of the City of Washington."
Details
HM NumberHM2IPJ
Tags
Placed ByThe CSX Corporation
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Friday, July 12th, 2019 at 8:01pm PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18S E 327066 N 4305112
Decimal Degrees38.87786667, -76.99360000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 38° 52.672', W 76° 59.616'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds38° 52' 40.32" N, 76° 59' 36.96" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling North
Closest Postal AddressAt or near , ,
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. What country is the marker located in?
  2. Is this marker part of a series?
  3. What historical period does the marker represent?
  4. What historical place does the marker represent?
  5. What type of marker is it?
  6. What class is the marker?
  7. What style is the marker?
  8. Does the marker have a number?
  9. What year was the marker erected?
  10. This marker needs at least one picture.
  11. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  12. Is the marker in the median?