Back to Results
Cover image of Building Washington
Cover image of Building Washington
Share this Title:

Building Washington

Engineering and Construction of the New Federal City, 1790−1840

Robert J. Kapsch

Publication Date
Binding Type

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...

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.

Reviews

Reviews

Rich in period detail thanks to Kapsch's extensive use of original documents, drawings and illustrations, and cost data for context, Building Washington is a fascinating look at the creation of the seat of our democracy.

Building Washington is a meticulously detailed account of the early construction of the capital city... The work will provide a treasure trove for research specialists in engineering and construction practices of the early republic and an informative reference work for enthusiastic Washingtonians.

This groundbreaking book skillfully traces the physical development of Washington during its earliest years. Robert Kapsch deftly examines a variety of archaic construction activities while also describing the human and financial difficulties that tormented the project from the start. These are rarely told and compelling stories.

What makes a city? Its people? Its natural surroundings? The civic pride of its residents? Whatever it is, Building Washington, by the extraordinary historian Robert Kapsch, is monumental. This compendium is overwhelming. It reads like a historic novel, is impossible to put down, and is an education in itself.

See All Reviews
About

Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
8.5
x
11
Pages
384
ISBN
9781421424873
Illustration Description
38 color illus., 83 b&w illus.
Table of Contents

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

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

Author Bio
Robert J. Kapsch
Featured Contributor

Robert J. Kapsch

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.