City Scape

Word on the street in DC is that there was a plethora of tour buses in the city, carting around folks interested in viewing the casket of the former Prez. [Literally, this was the word on the street, as my friend was relating the tour bus viewing while he was walking the streets of Washington today.] This friend, a federal employee, also let me in on the fact that all federal employees were told to be gone by 3:30 p.m. While an interesting factoid, what intrigued me even more during our conversation was the fact that while he was walking the streets of DC talking to me, I was walking the streets of Minneapolis. And how someone had planned the layout and names of these streets. And how some urban planners are supremely more inspired than others.

Here are some of my faves:
Pierre-Charles L'Enfant, who of course is largely responsible for the plan of our fair District of Columbia. [Check this out for an interesting glimpse into (or perhaps random speculation about) L'Enfant's personal life.]

James Edward Oglethorpe, who designed Savannah into a gorgeous, squareful city. Check out this biography and portrait expertly executed by children of the Calvary Baptist Day School.

Baron Georges Hausmann, who obviously knew what he was doing in creating a brilliant 12-spoke wheel within Paris. But - I wonder if the city would have maintained more of its charm without the expansive streets of Hausmann's design that are now lined with Gaps, Sephoras, and other capitalist enterprises...