L'Enfant Plaza

For the train station serving the Washington Metro and Virginia Railway Express, see L'Enfant Plaza station.
L'Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C. in 2011; the glass pyramid, installed in the late 1990s, was removed two years later, in 2013.[1]

L'Enfant Plaza is a complex of four commercial buildings grouped around a large plaza in the Southwest section of Washington, D.C., United States. Immediately below the plaza and the buildings is La Promenade shopping mall.[2][3]

The plaza is located south of Independence Avenue SW between 12th and 9th Streets SW (9th Street actually runs underneath the centers of the buildings on the easternmost side of the plaza). It was built perpendicular to L'Enfant Promenade, a north-south running street and pedestrian esplanade part of which is directly above 10th Street SW. The plaza is named for Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant,[4] the architect and planner who first designed a street layout for the capital city (see L'Enfant Plan). It was dedicated in 1968 after completion of the north and south buildings.

  1. ^ Paschall, Valerie (May 8, 2013). "Louvre-esque Pyramid at L'Enfant Plaza Says Au Revoir". Curbed. VoxMedia, Inc. Archived from the original on January 29, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  2. ^ "The L'Enfant complex ... includes three private office buildings and one government-owned building ..." See: Spinner, Jackie. "Rooftop Residences at Hechinger Site." Washington Post. October 29, 2001.
  3. ^ Swisher, Kara. "Feeling Powerless Under L'Enfant Plaza." Washington Post. February 20, 1992.
  4. ^ L'Enfant was born Pierre L'Enfant, but anglicized his name to Peter. Both names were used in the United States when referring to him. See: Sandiford, 2008, p. 5.