Last updated: May 3, 2024
Place
Information Panel: Evolving Vision
NPS / Claire Hassler
Quick Facts
Amenities
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Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
Through the dark of night, an enslaved worker named Jim Parks could see the Union Army advancing. "Like bees-a-coming," 14,000 troops moved across the Potomac River. They captured Arlington House on May 24, 1861. The Union Army occupied this key vantage point to prevent Confederate artillery from shelling the capital. Forty-three years earlier, this same view inspired G.W.P. Custis to build Arlington House. High on the hilltop, within the original boundary of the District of Columbia, and overlooking architect Pierre Charles L'Enfant's grand vision for the nation's capital, Custis built a monument to Washington's legacy.
Washington appointed L'Enfant (entombed at right) to lay out the streets of the capital city. The L'Enfant Plan of 1792, still evident today, features wide avenues, public spaces, and national memorials.
White House
G.W.P. Custis hosted prominent guests from the White House such as presidents and foreign leaders.
Capitol
G.W.P. Custis built this mansion in plain view of the lawmakers below.
Plantation Houses
Most enslaved laborers lived in dwellings like this one located at Mount Vernon.
Spring House
G.W.P. Custis made agriculture patriotic with annual sheep judging festivals.
This lithograph shows a view of Arlington Plantation in 1838.
Washington appointed L'Enfant (entombed at right) to lay out the streets of the capital city. The L'Enfant Plan of 1792, still evident today, features wide avenues, public spaces, and national memorials.
White House
G.W.P. Custis hosted prominent guests from the White House such as presidents and foreign leaders.
Capitol
G.W.P. Custis built this mansion in plain view of the lawmakers below.
Plantation Houses
Most enslaved laborers lived in dwellings like this one located at Mount Vernon.
Spring House
G.W.P. Custis made agriculture patriotic with annual sheep judging festivals.
This lithograph shows a view of Arlington Plantation in 1838.