Abstract
Throughout its history, Philadelphia has boasted the work of notable architects and builders. Yet hardly any were so controversial or left such a mixed legacy as the self-styled “engineer of the United States” during the nation’s founding, Peter (Pierre) Charles L’Enfant. From 1793 to 1800, while the city served as the federal seat of government, L’Enfant lived in Philadelphia and applied his hand to a range of ambitious projects. This period followed his sudden, acrimonious departure from laying out the grand new city on the Potomac. And as in this earlier appointment, nearly all L’Enfant’s subsequent projects were marked with difficulty. Indeed, the climax of L’Enfant’s efforts in Philadelphia saw his masterwork pulled down and demolished by the citizens themselves to make way for more practical construction of a different character. Nor was L’Enfant’s personal life in the city any easier, as he found himself beset and bullied by his housemate, Richard Soderstrom, the Swedish consul. As a result, despite his singular creativity and talents, L’Enfant’s energies in the city would largely be forgotten.