I have suggested that the DC Planners used the cross-section image of the Great Pyramid as one of the templates for the map layout, and that Penn. Ave. was intended to simulate the Ascending Passage and the Grand Gallery. The problem is that, unlike Potomac Avenue and the Descending Passage, the bend or crook in the Penn. Ave makes for a bad "fit" to the pyramid image.
Looking at the avenue (below), which runs from north-west to south-east, you will notice that the reason for the bend in that is the placement of the Capitol Building. If we call the purple line the actual path of PA, and the red line the "ideal" (straight) path, we can see that the two coincide north and west of the White House, and that they both end in the same place in the south-east, at the river.
When we look at the topographic image of the Capitol area at that time (1791) we discover that in spite of the fact that "historians" tell us that the Capitol Building was located on " a hill", evoking a mental image of a building showcased above the surrounding landscape, it is actually not placed on one of any number of prominent high spots close-by, which are marked in red below. There are three positions to the east of the Capitol that are all 40 feet higher than the chosen location.
This of course contradicts what we read in Jeffrey Meyer's book "Myths in Stone" where he states that "L'Enfant chose Jenkins Hill, the most prominent elevation, as the conceptual center of his design, the site of the Capitol", because, as you can see the building was located on the edge of a hill and not on "the most prominent elevation".
While L'Enfant had called the location on the edge of the hill a pedestal waiting for a monument, it was one of the things that Andrew Ellicott objected to when he took over from L'Enfant (when he was fired from the planning position). In "Through a Fiery Trial" by Bob Arnebeck we read that while Ellicott thought that the map contained too many squares and disgonal avenues, his major complaint was the site of the Capitol (page 115).
"This last defect is so obvious, that I do not remember to have met with one person, who did not immediately see it, when on the ground", writes Ellicott. He complained that 1) it was too close to the edge of the hill so that the foundation "may be doubtful", 2) on the side of the building facing the hill's edge, the ascent would be too steep for convenience, and 3) the hills to the east meant that much landscaping would have to be done so that the view of the building would not be obstructed. [As it turns out, there have been lots of problems with the CB realted to it's poor foundation.]
Arnebeck writes that "Ellicott ensured them that the changes would not affect the engraved plan" (p 115), and even though Meyer claims (page 2 "Myths in Stone") that "The site for the Capitol was actually moved slightly to the east", Arnebeck points twice to his assertion that Washington stood in the way of moving the building. On page 118 he notes that the president made a show of "his impatience with changing the site of the Capitol or the plan of the city" also declaring that the hill to the east should stay "since were it to be dug away, private buildings would as effectually exclude prospect from the Capitol (meaning would block the view).
Note that all of this appears to negate what Ovason says about Ellicott making changes to the map on his own, since Arnebeck is claiming that GW took control of the map design when L'Enfant left. This also calls into question what Ovason says about Ellicott having been the one who determined the current location of the CB in order to guarantee the alignment of Penn Ave. How could he put it where it is, and have wanted to move it east. Note that moving the CB to the east would make PA even more distorted.
I suggest that if you have read much of what I have written about the templates used in the map layout, it will become apparent that Ellicott was not 'in on the secrets' contained in the map, as you can see by his assertion that moving the Capitol Building to the east would not affect the plan.
The question that confronts us is, if the planners were not concerned with the CB being on one of the highest and most prominent spots on the hill, why did they place it where they did? That is, why did they place the CB on the crest of the hill, rather than on one of several more prominent positions close-by?
I believe that the planners were more interested in depicting the image of the pyramid in the map layout than in highlighting governmental structures on high places, and that Pennsylvania Avenue has a bend in it because the position that the Capitol would have needed to occupy in order to produce a straight line and a proper fit to the pyramid image, would have placed in on the side of a steep hill.
Here is an image that features the pyramid image overlaid on the map image with PA straightened.
Concerning the location of the White House, we read on pages 52 and 53 of "Fiery Trial" that L'Enfant had hand-deliverd his first draft of the plan to Washington on June 22, 1791. On June 28th GW went with L'Enfant and Ellicott to see if he like the place that L'Enfant had picked out for the president's house, and he did not. Speaking of the location that he had picked, L'Enfant said, "The spot I assigned, I chose somewhat more in the wood, and off the creek".
We are told that on the 29th the president told a large crowd gathered at Suter's tavern that the diagonal avenues (which some had objected to) would not be so numerous, and that the president's house would be more to the west "for the advantage of higher ground".
Meyer goes so far as to state, in two different locations, that the White House location was moved by Washington. His version of the story reads, "Washington was not completely happy with the location and moved it a bit west to the exact spot it occupies today" (p 101), and "Washington himself chose the exact spot, slightly west of the site that L'Enfant had indicated" (page 116).
However, as you can see from the topographic iamge above, the WH was not moved. There is a broad higher (by 40 feet) place close to it that was not chosen, which raises more questions about who was responsible for what, and just how much of the stories that we read about the map history are 'true'. Still the fact remains, that had the WH and CB been placed on the close by high places, the image of the pyramid would not have fit this map.