On April 24, 2025, National Civic Art Society President Justin Shubow delivered a lecture on “The City Beautiful Movement and Washington, D.C.” as part of the inaugural Teófilo Victoria Lecture Series, sponsored by the Florida chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art in collaboration with the Coral Gables Museum and National Civic Art Society. The talk took place at the aforementioned museum.
Poster by Rafael Portuondo
Shubow traced the origins and legacy of the 1901–1902 McMillan Plan—widely seen as the defining achievement of the City Beautiful movement—as it reinterpreted L’Enfant’s original vision for the capital. He detailed how the Plan replaced the Victorian landscaping of the National Mall with the Monumental Core we recognize today: a formal east-west axis anchored by classical buildings, civic memorials, and expansive public grounds. Conceived by the Senate Park Commission under Senator James McMillan, the Plan laid the groundwork for our most enduring landmarks such as the Lincoln Memorial, Union Station, and the Federal Triangle, while also advancing a vision of beauty, order, and civic dignity in the heart of the capital. Shubow concluded by raising a provocative question: what might a 21st-century City Beautiful movement look like, and could Washington, D.C. once again lead by design?
