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Thomas Jeffeson once said he wanted Washington to be the American Paris. It was designed by a Parisian, it is a mid rise city, it has wide avenues, it has lots of parks, and it has a structure that is tall and is the focal point of the city. So what do you think? Obviously it can in no way compete with Paris, but has it reached the vision of an Americanized Paris?
No, and I don't know where this idea that DC is Parisian came from, particularly since the plans for the city were finished around 1792, well before Haussmann's renovation of Paris from 1853 to 1870. DC is in fact mostly based on the German city of Karlsruhe, from which it gets its radial avenue concept. That said, DC's urban form has developed somewhat similarly to Paris, but also like most European cities with an historic core and satellite commercial centers; it differs in that it has a downtown CBD.
I was giving a friend from France a tour of DC this past weekend, and she really liked it. We went to Georgetown, went to the Old Post Office observation deck, Penn Quarter, West End, Foggy Bottom, and Dupont Circle. She said she liked it more than New York even.
She said DC reminded her of home.
I personally know plenty of Europeans that have come here and really liked it.
No, and I don't know where this idea that DC is Parisian came from, particularly since the plans for the city were finished around 1792, well before Haussmann's renovation of Paris from 1853 to 1870. DC is in fact mostly based on the German city of Karlsruhe, from which it gets its radial avenue concept. That said, DC's urban form has developed somewhat similarly to Paris, but also like most European cities with an historic core and satellite commercial centers; it differs in that it has a downtown CBD.
I believe it was mostly designed off of Versailles. With the large avenues radiating through the town from the palace
I was giving a friend from France a tour of DC this past weekend, and she really liked it. We went to Georgetown, went to the Old Post Office observation deck, Penn Quarter, West End, Foggy Bottom, and Dupont Circle. She said she liked it more than New York even.
She said DC reminded her of home.
I personally know plenty of Europeans that have come here and really liked it.
I had a similar experience. One of my coworkers is from Paris and she goes back to visit family there often. But she said that when she was choosing where to live in the US she narrowed it down to NYC and Washington DC. She told me that she ended up choosing DC because of how much it reminded her of Paris. Which is why I bring up this subject
Who doesn't want to be compared to one of the greatest cities on earth?
An incredibly overrated one at that. You're really comparing it to a city that's stuck and not progressing. Capital flows are pouring into London, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai and Sydney...Paris has a stagnant real estate market and economy burdened by national fiscal problems. DC should be looking at cities moving forward, not trying to stay in their glorified pasts. (And yes, I know that's going slightly off topic.)
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