As Part of Her "Free and Equal D.C.' Series, Norton Introduces Bill to Place Pierre L'Enfant Statue in U.S. Capitol

Press Release

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today introduced a bill to permanently place a statue depicting Pierre L'Enfant, the designer of the District of Columbia's master plan, in the U.S. Capitol. The bill is part of her "Free and Equal D.C." series of legislation, which insists on equal rights for D.C. residents, which Norton has shown is possible under the Home Rule Act even before the District achieves statehood. Each state has two statues in the U.S. Capitol. Currently, D.C. is the only jurisdiction that is not a state with a statue in the Capitol. D.C.'s statue, which depicts Frederick Douglass, was placed in the U.S. Capitol by a Norton bill passed in 2012 and officially unveiled on June 19, 2013. In response to a D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) competition for D.C. statues in the Capitol in 2006, D.C. residents chose L'Enfant as one of the top ten Americans who had given distinguished service to the District. The DCCAH selection committee then chose L'Enfant as the second statue representing the District of Columbia to be commissioned and placed in the Capitol. L'Enfant's statue is housed at the One Judiciary Square Office Building, which is owned by the District.

"D.C. took a step toward equality with the placement of our first statue, represented by Frederick Douglass, in the Capitol, when only states had been represented by statues before," Norton said. "We recognize that our placement of the statue of Frederick Douglass was a historic first step, but D.C. should have a second statue in the Capitol as well. Perhaps more than any other figure, Pierre L'Enfant shaped the nation's capital as we know it today with his architectural vision. L'Enfant's statue sits ready to make the short trip from its current home at One Judiciary Square to the U.S. Capitol."

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