<Tr> <Th> NRHP reference #</Th> <Td> 97000332 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Designated </Th> <Td> April 24, 1997 </Td> </Tr> <P> The L'Enfant Plan for the city of Washington is the urban plan developed in 1791 by Major Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant for George Washington, the first President of the United States . </P> <P> Major L'Enfant was a French engineer who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War . In 1789, when discussions were underway regarding a new federal capital city for the United States, L'Enfant wrote to President Washington asking to be commissioned to plan the city . However, any decision on the capital was put on hold until July 1790 when Congress passed the Residence Act . The legislation, which was the result of a compromise brokered by Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, specified the new capital be situated on the Potomac River, at some location between the Eastern Branch (the Anacostia River) and the Connogochegue, near Hagerstown, Maryland . The Residence Act gave authority to President Washington to appoint three commissioners to oversee the survey of the federal district and "according to such Plans, as the President shall approve," provide public buildings to accommodate the Federal government in 1800 . </P>

Who drafted a design for the district of columbia