The Mall

The Mall

National Park Service photo by Mike Litterst

Quick Facts

Location:

Washington, DC

Significance:

National Register of Historic Places

Amenities

3 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Public Transit, Scenic View/Photo Spot

The Mall is the historic core of what is now broadly known as the National Mall, and understanding the distinction between the two helps clarify both the landscape’s design and its meaning.

Today, the term National Mall encompasses a much larger area than the Mall alone. It includes the landscape historically referred to as the Mall, stretching from the grounds of the U.S. Capitol west to the Washington Monument; the grounds of the Washington Monument; and West Potomac Park, home to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jefferson, Korean War Veterans, Lincoln, Vietnam Veterans, and World War II memorials. Within this larger framework, the Mall remains the central organizing element.

The Mall is a landscaped grass lawn extending one mile west from the U.S. Capitol to the Washington Monument. It is bounded by Constitution Avenue to the north and Independence Avenue to the south. At its center are eight long panels of grass lawn, each approximately 450 feet in length and 170 feet wide, aligned end to end between the Capitol and the monument. These panels are separated by cross streets and a 35-foot-wide gravel path that also traces the outer perimeter. Beyond the lawns, 130-foot-wide groves of trees line both the north and south sides, framing the open space and reinforcing its linear form.The significance of the Mall lies not only in its physical design but in its symbolism. Its defining feature is the uninterrupted vista between the Capitol and the Washington Monument, establishing a powerful visual and symbolic relationship between the legislative branch of government and the executive branch, represented by the Washington Monument’s alignment with the White House. This relationship was a central goal of both Pierre Charles L’Enfant’s 1791 plan for the federal city and the McMillan Plan of 1902, which reshaped Washington’s monumental core. Together, these plans made the Mall a lasting symbol of American democracy.

The development of the Mall in Washington, D.C., reflects the evolving vision of the nation’s capital from its founding to the modern era. Conceived in 1791 by L’Enfant as a broad, open promenade linking the U.S. Capitol and the Potomac River, the Mall was intended to serve as the symbolic heart of the federal city. Early modifications by Andrew Ellicott softened L’Enfant’s plan, and throughout the 19th century the area developed unevenly, used variously as gardens, rail lines, markets, and grazing land.

A renewed commitment to monumental order came with the McMillan Plan, which reasserted the Mall as a formal, axial landscape anchored by national institutions and framed by museums and government buildings. That vision was largely realized during the 1930s under the guidance of Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., when the Mall’s lawns, tree panels, and vistas were constructed as a unified design. Since then, the Mall has continued to evolve, serving both as a ceremonial space for national celebrations and as the America’s foremost stage for public gatherings, protest, and civic expression.

Within the broader National Mall, the Mall remains the symbolic spine of the capital. Every day, the National Park Service cares for this historic landscape through ongoing maintenance, thoughtful planning, and careful management, ensuring that the Mall continues to reflect the ideals, debates, and aspirations of the nation it represents.