A Man with a Plan

Slanted Wayside Exhibit:

L’Enfant Plan
543 words / Total Audio Description: 3 minutes, 1 second

Site Information
164 words / 54 seconds

This is an audio description of an interpretive sign titled A Man with a Plan. The sign is divided into 2 parts. On the left is a graphic panel measuring 3 feet (1 meter) wide by 2 feet (0.5 meters) tall. On the right, a tactile map panel is 1 foot (0.3 meters) wide by 2 feet (0.5 meters) tall. An audio speaker with push buttons and two solar panels separates the graphic panel from the map. All parts are set within an angled black metal frame with two legs that raise the sign 3 feet (1 meter) off the ground. Immediately beyond the panel is a light red granite wall, 3 feet (0.9 meters) tall, which extends left 6 feet (1.8 meters) and right 50 feet (15.2 meters). Behind the wall is a black metal-edged display fountain 75 feet (22.3 meters) wide by 50 feet (15.2 meters) deep. Beyond the fountain, in the distance, is Pennsylvania leading up towards the US Capitol Building.

Exhibit Panel Content
308 words / 1 minute, 42 seconds

The title reads A Man with a Plan.This panel features a detailed, dense, hand-drawn historic map of Washington, DC on a light tan background. Within a grid of right-angle streets, the map’s main avenues cross at diagonals across the city. The Potomac River and its Eastern Branch (Today known as the Anacostia River) are lightly shaded in blue, the edges growing darker toward the shoreline. Park areas are depicted in a lighter shade of green. Green labels indicate key features of the map, including the White House and the Capitol Building. On the lower left side of the map, an oval inset image features a portrait of Pierre L’Enfant. Shown as a side profile, L’Enfant is dressed in a golden-brown jacket and a white shirt. His long, darker grey hair—possibly a wig—appears to be braided.

Dark text reads:

George Washington appointed French engineer and Revolutionary War veteran, Pierre L’Enfant, to come up with a plan for the new country’s capital city in 1791. L’Enfant’s plan was bold and innovative. He imagined broad avenues, perfect for parades, that created long sightlines between monuments. Today, you’re standing in the middle of L’Enfant’s Plan, with a view of the White House behind you and the Capitol Building in front of you. You can find a map of the L’Enfant Plan engraved in the raised plaza here.

Below the blue oval featuring L’Enfant’s portrait, a caption in dark text reads:

Pierre “Peter” Charles L’Enfant was born in Paris, France, but came to America in 1777 to fight in the Revolutionary War. He spent the rest of his life in the new country he helped to create.

In the bottom right-hand corner of the panel, a dark yellow circle lined in blue with dark text reads:

If you were hired to design a capital city, what would it look like?

Tactile Map
71 words / 23 seconds

The title reads The L’Enfant Plan.A tactile map to the right of the panel and audio description buttons outlines the L’Enfant Plan, an extensive park system concept that built on L’Enfant’s vision for the city. The plan is a zoomed-in section of the map depicted on the graphic panel. A legend with raised letters below the map contains text that reads:

You Are Here
North
White House
Capitol
Water
Grass

[End of description.]