L'Enfant Plaza

L'Enfant Plaza is a large, mixed-use complex in Washington, D.C., featuring an underground mall, office buildings, hotels, and the Smithsonian museums nearby. Named after Pierre L'Enfant, the city’s designer, it was built in the 1960s and designed with modernist architecture. The plaza serves as a major transit hub, connecting several Metro subway lines, making it easy to access various parts of the city. Its open spaces and distinctive structures reflect a mid-20th-century urban planning style, blending transportation, commerce, and cultural attractions in a thoughtfully coordinated area central to Washington’s downtown.