BENJAMIN BANNEKER While there is no doubt L’Enfant designed the capital, it could never have been built without an Benjamin Banneker, whose brilliant mind saved Washington, D.C. When the President fired the architect and the plans left town tucked under his arm, L’Enfant left something behind, not on paper but in the mind of a certain surveyor. Benjamin Banneker, from Brookhaven National Laboratory at bnl.gov. Benjamin Banneker and Major Andrew Ellicott must both be credited with saving the capital. Banneker, an African-American mathematician and astronomer, had been engaged by Ellicott to help survey the federal territory during the time Ellicott was working closely with L’Enfant. Banneker was able to reproduce the complete layout – streets, parks, major buildings. But others say the story about reconstructing from memory may not be entirely Banneker’s achievement, citing Andrew and Benjamin Ellicott who told Secretary of State Jefferson and President Washington they could reproduce the plan in enough detail to make something suitable for engraving. Whichever side of the controversy you’re on, there is much to be said for sharing designs with a core team. “The L’Enfant & McMillan Plans,” National Park Service cr/nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/lenfant.htm.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 04:17:22 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015