The theme of this second collection is Culture and Capital(ism) and the cities chosen are New Orleans and Washington, D.C., both rich in history and culture, and the booming megalopolises of Las Vegas and Dubai. With this theme we asked: how does a capital investment in manufacturing culture impact city form?

Washington D.C. – 5.3 million
Founded in 1790 along the banks of the Potomac, the planned city’s layout was influenced by the Baroque style (the prominent style of the day for planned cities in the U.S.) and drafted by Pierre Charles L’Enfant, a French architect who arrived with Gen. Lafayette during the Revolution.

The National Mall, rendered in bright green, is expansive, taking up as much space as the main stretch of the Las Vegas Strip. The Potomac River, depicted in blue, bisects the plate and is the border between Washington, D.C. and Virginia. The green areas along the Virginia side of the plate are Rock Creek Park, which is twice the size of Central Park, and the enormous Arlington National Cemetery.

The Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol, and the White House are represented in red, but appear tiny when compared to the mammoth structures seen in Vegas and Dubai. The large red Pentagon is unmistakable. Covering nearly 30 acres, it is the only building in the city with a scale that eclipses Vegas’ giant casinos.

These porcelain plates measure 12” across, with each city’s downtown core printed on a black background. Key buildings are represented with red icons, while rivers and public spaces are shown in blue and green. Each plate is boxed and includes a key to the buildings and spaces included on the plate.