In 1791, President
George Washington hired
Pierre Charles L'Enfant to create a plan for the
layout of the federal city. L'Enfant focused on the area between
Tiber Creek, today Constitution Avenue and the Eastern Branch, also called the
Anacostia River. L'Enfant
surveyed the area in the spring of 1791 and created a plan for the city by the end of the year. This plan established the placement of the Capitol and President's House, now called the
White House, and recommended the creation of the public promenade from the
Capitol to the Potomac, the area we now call the National Mall.