National Capital Parks A History

Concessions

In the development of the park system in the National Capital, a policy was adopted not to operate all recreational facilities directly by the park Office, but to handle many of them through private management under the general supervision of a Recreation Division of the park office. [84] The three principal concessioners operating facilities in the park system under this arrangement are Government Services, Inc. (formerly the Welfare and Recreation Association of Public Buildings), the S. G. Loeffler Operating Company, and the Almour's Securities, Inc. Government Services, Inc., is a non—profit corporation, operating accommodations, facilities, and services for the public within 28 acres under the administration of National Capital Parks. [85] These services include the operation of six swimming pools, the Potomac Park Motor Court, four souvenir stands, the Fort Washington Housing project, the Watergate Theater and related facilities, and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Barge. [86] A twenty-year contract has recently been entered into between the Department of the Interior and Government Services, Inc. to replace the contract which expired March 31, 1951. This contract provides for the operation by Government Services, Inc. of the various accommodations, facilities, and services for the public within the areas under the administration of National Capital Parks. [87] The S. G. Loeffler Operating Company operates 10 nine-hole golf courses in the park areas of Washington. This company is responsible for the maintenance of the golf courses and for the keeping of all properties in good condition. Profit accruing from the operation of the courses and houses therein goes to the Operating Company. [88] The Almour's Securities Company, Inc. operates the Little Hatchet Tavern, a restaurant and refreshment stand at the Mount Vernon terminus of the Mount Vernon Memorial Highway. This, like the operation of the golf courses and golf houses under the Loeffler Operating Company, is strictly a private concession but under the general supervision of the park Office. [89]

Bicycling in East Potomac Park

Important Developments, 1933-1951

A tremendous development of the park system of the National Capital was effected during the years 1933 to 1951. This development was both extensive and intensive. It was extensive as the increase in park lands was phenomenal. Today, National Capital Parks consist of 45,000 acres, while in 1933, the entire park system including Maryland and Virginia consisted of only 6,367.39 acres. It was intensive because it resulted in varied achievements touching upon many fields of endeavor. This development tapped the resources of many professions. More over, this development has not stopped. It is continuing with ever increasing intensity. New concepts in the field of park work were adopted, so that the park development of the National Capital could keep abreast to the needs of a growing community and Nation. Experts in the fields of administration, landscape architecture, history, natural history, construction, engineering, architecture, and park protection all contributed to the development of the park system during this period.

Acquisitions, 1933—1951

The growth of park lends during the last 18 years has made the National Capital Parks one of the largest park systems in the United States. From 1933 to the present time over 38,000 acres of park land have been acquired. [90] Among the largest of the more recent acquisitions are the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, Catoctin park, and Prince William Forest Park. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, once a vital transportation artery of the Potomac Valley, came into the park system in 1938 and consists of 5,253 acres. Prince William Forest Park, located approximately 35 miles south of Washington, near Quantico, Virginia, was acquired in 1941 and consists of 14,300 acres. [91] Catoctin Park, located at Thurrmont, Maryland, became a part of National Capital Parks in 1942 and consists of 10,000 acres. [92]

Other important land acquisitions during the past 18 years include the Theodore Roosevelt Island, Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, Dumbarton Oaks, Fort Washington, and a number of Playgrounds within the District of Columbia. [93] The Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens provide a distinctive park feature, probably not duplicated anywhere in the World. Formerly known as the Shaw Lily gardens, they were acquired in 1938. Dumbarton Oaks Park, although small in area, is an extremely valuable park reservation located in historic Georgetown. It was first opened to the public on Easter weekend of 1941. [94]

Water Lilies at Kenilworth

Fort Washington

The transfer of Fort Washington to the park Office was authorized in 1933, and permanently effected in 1940. [95] The first Fort Washington was substantially completed by December 1, 1809, and was designed to be a part of the defenses of the Capital. As ships of the British Royal Navy approached the fort on August 27, 1814, Captain Dyson, the American Commander, destroyed the fort. Initial work on the second Fort Washington began on September 8, 1814, when Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant was ordered by the Acting Secretary of War James Monroe to take charge of the reconstruction of the Fort. One of the best examples of early American fortifications, this historic fort occupies a strategic location over—looking the Potomac river opposite Mount Vernon.

National Memorials and Historic Sites

In addition to the foregoing park areas, several of the Nation's outstanding National Monuments and Historic Sites were returned after a brief absence to the Office of National Capital Parks. In 1940, the Lee Mansion, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Lincoln Museum, House Where Lincoln Died, and the Battleground Cemetery were placed in the National Memorials and Historic Sites Division. The return of these nationally revered memorials to the Office under which they were constructed was a significant addition to the expending National Capital Parks. Before 1933, all of these National Monuments as well as the parks had been administered by the office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital. When the legal jurisdiction of this office passed to the National Park Service, the buildings division and the parks division were separated. This separation became permanently fixed in 1939, when the administration of Public Buildings was placed with the Federal Works Agency, while the parks and certain historic structures were left under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. [96]

The National Monuments and Historic Sites have become a vital part of National Capital Parks. The Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, and the Lee Mansion are each expressions of the love and devotion of the American people for the memory of great Americans. Known throughout the land, these monuments have become symbols of particular achievements in our National life. As our Nation grows, the importance of American history increases. Besides an awareness of World history, our children will become more and more familiar with the development of our own Nation. For to be informed citizens of the World, they must first of all be informed citizens of their own country. As an aid in this direction, the National Memorials and Historic Sites throughout the Nation are continually increasing in value. A striking example of this, is the visitation to the National Monuments located in Washington, which finds the Lincoln Memorial National Monument receiving over two million visitors annually, the highest visitation received by any National Park Service area. Thousands of school children flock to Washington yearly. They are inspired and educated in American history by visits to the National Monuments and Historic sites in the Nation's Capital.

Fort Stevens

Virtually all the famous battlefields of the great conflict between the North and South are embraced within the National Park System. These fields, 19 in all, constitute the largest single group of historic sites in Federal ownership. [97] National Capital Parks has several unique reminders of the Civil War. On August 10, 1933 the Battleground Cemetery was added to the office. [98] This cemetery contains the graves of Union soldiers, killed during the attack on Washington by the Confederate General Jubal A. Early. Fort Stevens, where the forces of General Early were repulsed by Union defenders, has previously been included in the park system. Today, Fort Stevens Park preserves the historical site, where Abraham Lincoln stood under fire of enemy guns during Early's attack on Washington on July 12, 1864. [99] These historical areas are graphic reminders of the strategic location and psychological importance of Washington during the years of the Civil War.