National Park Service Seeks Public Comment on Rehabilitation of Landscape Surrounding Robert Emmet Sculpture

Date: September 29, 2015
Contact: Emily Linroth, 202-596-4666

The National Park Service is seeking public comment on a project to rehabilitate park landscaping at the triangle bounded by Massachusetts Avenue, 24th and S Streets, NW. This area, known as U.S. Reservation 302, contains a sculpture of Irish patriot Robert Emmet. 

The scope of this project includes routine maintenance tasks, replacing invasive English ivy with native groundcover, adding laurel shrubs to areas where they no longer exist, trimming trees, and reestablishing turf areas. These tasks are already funded and will occur fall 2015 and spring 2016.

The scope also includes removal of the existing Deodar cedar tree, which is obscuring and potentially damaging the Emmet sculpture, and replacing it with three eight- to 10-foot tall columnar Irish yew trees. The yews would form a backdrop to the sculpture, and each tree would be maintained at a height and diameter that would prevent damage to the Emmet sculpture.

The National Park Service also proposes to remove the Sargent's juniper shrub. Replacing the juniper with a laurel shrub match the surrounding plants and help ensure that the landscape will survive and thrive with proper maintenance well into the future.

The National Park Service believes these actions will improve the condition of the park, help protect the historically significant Robert Emmet sculpture, and promote the spirit and character of the park's original 1966 planting design.

Currently, the National Park Service is working with the D. C. State Historic Preservation Office to determine if U.S. Reservation 302 is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Federal historic preservation law requires that federal agencies seek and consider the public's views about proposed projects that could affect a property that is listed, or has the potential to be listed, on the National Register. The National Park Service is holding a 45-day public comment period on this project. More information about the project is available online. Comments may be submitted online, or by postal mail to:

Rock Creek Park
Attn: US Reservation 302 Landscape Rehabilitation Project
3545 Williamsburg Lane, NW
Washington, D.C. 20008

Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask the NPS to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.