Information Panels: Creating Meridian Hill

Information Panel: Meridian Hill

NPS / Claire Hassler

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Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Wheelchair Accessible

Visionary and Park Champion

Meridian Hill Park might never have been built had it not been for the determination of Mary Foote Henderson (1846-1931). For 22 years, she lobbied Congress for funds to buy the land and build the park. Congress's 1910 vote to authorize construction of Meridian Hill Park is a testimony to her resolve.
Henderson's efforts in urban development weren't limited to promoting Meridian Hill Park. She engaged the services of some of the country's foremost architects for her grand schemes, including an enormous new presidential mansion and two Lincoln memorials, none of which were ever built.
Henderson had nearly a dozen elaborate residences built on 15th and 16th Streets for use as embassies and other diplomatic missions. She then planned to line 16th Street with the busts of former presidents and change the name of the street to "Avenue of the Presidents." Although she succeeded in getting the street renamed for a short time, her grand vision for 16th Street was never realized.

Creating the "City Beautiful"

At the beginning of its second century, the nation's capital was changing dramatically. In 1902, the United States Senate adopted a number of recommendations from the Senate Park Commission, popularly known as the McMillan Commission. By 1910, a federally appointed group of architects and designers, the Commission of Fine Arts, was directing the rehabilitation of the National Mall. Under their supervision, construction began on several new buildings near the Capitol, including the monuments to Lincoln and Jefferson, and on a series of new parks.
Two principles guided both commissions. The first was Pierre L'Enfant's 1792 plan of the city, which had never been fully realized and had nearly been lost during the 19th century. The second was creation and maintenance of grand public spaces, as endorsed by the proponents of the City Beautiful movement of the 1890s, and exemplified by the Beaux Arts designs of the French and Italian Renaissance revivals. Serving as a "monumental entrance to Washington," Meridian Hill Park demonstrates both principles.
According to Meridian Hill Park's National Historic Landmark nomination (1994), "the creation of a Renaissance villa landscape in the midst of an American city to serve as a public park has no true parallel."

Design Challenges

Limited funds and the dramatic change in elevation at the Meridian Hill Park site - falling 75 feet from north to south - challenged the Commission of Fine Arts and their designers. The 16th Street edge required massive retaining walls to transition from the upper park to the sidewalk at street level.
Budget constraints meant the designers could not specify natural stone for the desired Renaissance forms. To find a solution, the park's architect in charge, Horace Peaslee, turned to the Earley Studio in Arlington, Virginia, renowned for its artistry and craftsmanship.
"For John Earley, Meridian Hill Park was the beginning of an involvement with concrete that was to last nearly thirty years. Eventually, he became the world's foremost expert on the practical aspects of concrete making, and under his direction the Earley Studio executed works of such unusual complexity and beauty that they have never been equaled,"
Frederick Cron, historian

Park Designers

Noted landscape architects George Burnap and Horace Peaslee, who worked in the Office of Public Buildings and Grounds, designed Meridian Hill Park under the guidance of the Commission of Fine Arts. By 1914, Burnap had completed his basic design: a linear series of elements that included the Mall, the Great Terrace, the Hillside Gardens with Cascades, and the Lower Plaza with memorial to President Buchanan.
After Burnap returned to private practice in 1917, Peaslee submitted revision that greatly simplified the Mall. As automobiles were rapidly replacing horse-drawn carriages in the city, he eliminated vehicular access into the park. He added a pedestrian entrance on 15th Street and shifted the Buchanan Memorial off the main axis to the east side of the Lower Plaza.
When park construction began in 1918, landscape designer Ferruccio Vitale was hired to develop a planting plan for Meridian Hill Park. Following Peaselee's lead, Vitale greatly simplified the lower park. He eliminated the 16th Street entrance to the Great Terrace, the bridge over the Cascades and the oval amphitheater, and simplified the pathways of the Hillside Gardens.