Construction of Pennsylvania Avenue Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site

pennsylvania avenue , 7th street in 1839. first unitarian church (situated on northeast corner of 6th street , pennsylvania avenue) can seen in background.

prior settlement of area european colonists, piscataway tribe of native americans occupied northeastern banks of potomac river, although no permanent settlements known in area encompassed city of washington. region began settled, david burns obtained first title area become pennsylvania avenue nw in 1774.

article one, section 8, of united states constitution established district... [to] become seat of government of united states... residence act of 1790 (as amended), established district , gave president of united states authority fix location of site somewhere along potomac river. president george washington chose current site of city in 1791, , surveyed later year. @ time, not foreseen city of washington coterminous district of columbia, , washington set northern boundary of city pennsylvania avenue today. washington chose pierre (peter) charles l enfant plan new city. although unnamed @ time, pennsylvania avenue designed in l enfant plan critical thoroughfare bringing existing roads heart of new city. designed link president s palace capitol building planned jenkin s hill (now capitol hill).

pennsylvania avenue created on april 14, 1792, when 3 commissioners overseeing district of columbia ordered middle of avenue president s palace capitol cleared. origin of name pennsylvania avenue obscure. name first applied avenue in letter surveyor , map-maker benjamin ellicott district s commissioners in december 1791.

the actual clearing of pennsylvania avenue did not begin until spring 1796. of pennsylvania avenue below 9th street swampy , unusable, tiber creek curved north border avenue @ 9th street , again @ 5th , 4th streets before crossing @ 2nd street. damp earned street nickname of great serbonian bog. (this marshy area filled in , dried beginning in 1816.) in fall of 1800, pennsylvania avenue cleared of underbrush, , 6-foot-wide (1.8 m) raised footpath covered in stone chips built. stone bridge on tiber creek @ 2nd street built during time, being replaced brick arch in 1817. on march 3, 1803, president thomas jefferson ordered pennsylvania avenue widened , road completed. benjamin henry latrobe, architect newly hired supervise avenue s reconstruction, built 3 lanes separated 4 rows of black poplars.

additional improvements street made throughout 19th century: avenue macadamized in 1832 (and poplars removed), repaved round stones in 1852, , repaved wooden blocks 1st 15th streets in 1870. wooden blocks required such extensive repair, however, between 1876 , 1877 replaced rock 1st 6th streets nw, , grahamite asphalt 6th 15th streets nw. avenue repaved in 1890 , again in 1907.