Washington, D.C. Was Planned on Empty Farmland — Watch It Rise (1600–2026)

A capital built from scratch. Watch Washington, D.C. being built from 1600 to 2026: the Nacotchtank homeland on the Anacostia, the port towns of Alexandria and Georgetown, the ten-mile square and its 40 boundary stones, L'Enfant's plan, the President's House and the Capitol, 1814 and the rebuilding, the City Canal, Virginia taking back its land, the Washington Monument (stopped at 152 feet for 25 years), the cast-iron Capitol dome, new land dredged from the Potomac, the Height Act that keeps the city low, the cherry trees, the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, the Pentagon, Metro, the memorials and museums on the Mall, and the rebuilt riverfronts. It ends with a tour from golden hour into the night, with fireworks over the Mall. Chapters 0:00 A capital built from scratch 0:09 The Nacotchtank homeland 0:24 Alexandria and Georgetown 0:37 Congress picks the Potomac 0:50 The ten-mile square 1:05 L'Enfant's plan 1:18 The President's House and the Capitol 1:44 Who built them 1:58 The government moves in 2:11 1814 2:24 The City Canal and the rebuilding 2:52 Virginia takes its land back 3:06 The Washington Monument begun 3:20 The Smithsonian Castle and the Capitol dome 3:48 The canal is covered over 4:01 New land from the river 4:15 The Monument completed 4:29 The Library of Congress and Union Station 4:54 The Height Act 5:08 The cherry trees 5:21 The Lincoln Memorial and Memorial Bridge 5:48 The Jefferson Memorial and the Pentagon 6:03 Metro and the Kennedy Center 6:16 New memorials and museums 6:43 The riverfronts 6:58 Washington today 7:12 Tour: the National Mall 7:28 The Tidal Basin 7:44 Capitol Hill 8:00 Rosslyn, and fireworks over the Mall Animated with custom code. History researched and checked (every date, height and name). Landmark positions are approximate; ordinary buildings are illustrative. Which city should we build next? Comment below. #WashingtonDC #History #CityFromScratch #USHistory #NationalMall #architecturetips