Seven essays on various aspects of the Park Commission Plan (popularly known as the McMillan Plan), by authors well-known in their fields. Many illustrations, some taken from the Park Commission’s Report (1902) and color illustrations of the remaining water color renderings owned by the Commission. With this current volume, the Commission has chosen to explore its origins with a look into the events and people leading up to the creation of the Senate Park (McMillan) Commission in 1901 and the resulting plan for the redevelopment of the city. It commemorates the recent centennial of the Park Commission Plan as well as bringing to light aspects of and insights into the plan not generally or clearly understood by the public. The plan was and still is a work in progress. Its creation was a lofty endeavor born of the spirit of the times in a political and social climate that seemed to frown on any enterprise that required the spending of public funds or called for a change in the accepted appearance of the Capital. The participants faced formidable obstacles not unlike those that reverberate today whenever a change to the familiar is contemplated. These essays have been compiled to serve the people of Washington and all who find the creation of cities a subject of fascination.

Illustrated with plans, maps, and new and historic photographs, the second edition of Worthy of the Nation provides researchers and general readers with an appealing and authoritative view of the planning and evolution of the federal district.

Seven essays on various aspects of the Park Commission Plan (popularly known as the McMillan Plan), by authors well-known in their fields. Many illustrations, some taken from the Park Commission’s Report (1902) and color illustrations of the remaining water color renderings owned by the Commission. With this current volume, the Commission has chosen to explore its origins with a look into the events and people leading up to the creation of the Senate Park (McMillan) Commission in 1901 and the resulting plan for the redevelopment of the city. It commemorates the recent centennial of the Park Commission Plan as well as bringing to light aspects of and insights into the plan not generally or clearly understood by the public. The plan was and still is a work in progress. Its creation was a lofty endeavor born of the spirit of the times in a political and social climate that seemed to frown on any enterprise that required the spending of public funds or called for a change in the accepted appearance of the Capital. The participants faced formidable obstacles not unlike those that reverberate today whenever a change to the familiar is contemplated. These essays have been compiled to serve the people of Washington and all who find the creation of cities a subject of fascination.

The father of our country slept with Martha, but schlepped in the District. Now in the great man’s footsteps comes humorist and twenty-year Washington resident Christopher Buckley with the real story of the city’s founding. Well, not really. We’re just trying to get you to buy the book. But we can say with justification that there’s never been a more enjoyable, funny, and informative tour guide to the city than Buckley. His delight as he points out things of interest is con-tagious, and his frequent digressions about his own adventures as a White House staffer are often hilarious. In Washington Schlepped Here, Buckley takes us along for several walks around the town and shares with us a bit of his “other” Washington. They include “Dante’s Paradiso” (Union Station); the “Zero Milestone of American democracy” (the U.S. Capitol); the “Almost Pink House” (the White House); and many other historical (and often hysterical) journeys. Buckley is the sort of wonderful guide who pries loose the abalone-like clichés that cling to a place as mythic as D.C. Wonderfully insightful and eminently practical, Washington Schlepped Here shows us that even a city whose chief industry is government bureaucracy is a lot funnier and more surprising than its media-ready image might let on. From the Hardcover edition.