Washington, DC - Pennsylvania Avenue - 1910 - trolleys, horses & buggies, flag

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Washington, DC - Pennsylvania Avenue - 1910 - trolleys, horses & buggies, flag:
$5.00

Washington, DC - Pennsylvania Avenue - 1910: Pennsylvania Avenue is a street in Washington, D.C. that joins the White House and the United States Capitol. Called \"America\'s Main Street\", it is the location of official parades and processions, as well as protest marches. Moreover, Pennsylvania Avenue is an important commuter route and is part of the National Highway System. Although Pennsylvania Avenue extends six miles (10 km) within Washington, D.C., the expanse between the White House and the Capitol constitutes the ceremonial heart of the nation. Washington called this stretch \"most magnificent & most convenient\", and it has served the country well. Laid out by Pierre (Peter) Charles L\'Enfant, Pennsylvania Avenue was one of the earliest streets constructed in the Federal City. The first reference to the street as Pennsylvania Avenue comes in a 1791 letter from Thomas Jefferson. One theory is that the street was named for Pennsylvania as consolation for moving the capital from Philadelphia. Both Jefferson and George Washington considered the avenue an important feature of the new capital. After inspecting L\'Enfant\'s plan, President Washington referred to the thoroughfare as a \"Grand Avenue\". Jefferson concurred, and while the \"grand avenue\" was little more than a wide dirt road ridiculed as \"The Great Serbonian Bog\", he planted it with rows of fast-growing Lombardy poplars. At one time Pennsylvania Avenue provided an unobstructed view between the White House and the Capitol. The construction of an expansion to the Treasury Building blocked this view, and supposedly President Andrew Jackson did this on purpose. Relations between the president and Congress were strained, and Jackson did not want to see the Capitol out his window, though in reality the Treasury Building was simply built on what was cheap government land. In an effort to tame dust and dirt, Pennsylvania Avenue was first paved using the macadam method in 1832, but over the years other pavement methods were trialed on the avenue: cobblestones in 1849 followed by Belgian blocks and then, in 1871, wooden blocks. In 1876, as part of an initiative begun by President Ulysses S. Grant to see Washington City\'s streets improved, Pennsylvania Avenue was given its first coat of asphalt using Trinidad lake asphalt. In November 2012, as part of preparations for President Barack Obama\'s second inaugural, Pennsylvania Avenue was repaved using warm-mix asphalt. On September 30, 1965, portions of the avenue and surrounding area were designated the Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site. The National Park Service administers this area which includes the United States Navy Memorial, Old Post Office Tower, and Pershing Park. Congress created the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation (PADC) on October 27, 1972 to rehabilitate the street between the Capitol and the White House, an area seen as blighted. The new organization was given the mandate of developing Pennsylvania Avenue \"in a manner suitable to its ceremonial, physical, and historic relationship to the legislative and executive branches of the Federal Government\". From 1862 to 1962, streetcars ran the length of the avenue from Georgetown to the Anacostia River. The card is in good condition, but shows edge wear with some soiling. Published by L&M Ottenheimer, Baltimore, Md.