Description:

Meridian Hill Park lies in the Columbia Heights neighborhood, under 1.0 mile from the Kalorama Triangle. It was named Meridian Hill Park because it is exactly 1.5 miles north of the White House on 16th street, in other words, on the north Meridian of the White House. The area immediately surrounding the park was developed by a wealthy St. Louis couple, John and Mary Henderson, beginning in the late 19th century. The couple enlisted the help of some of the world’s finest landscape architects and builders to shape the neighborhood to their liking, asking architect George Oakley Totten, Jr. to construct homes around the area, many of which now function as embassies to countries such as Turkey and Ecuador, or else house agencies such as the Inter-American Defense Board. The plans for a park didn’t come together until well after much of the development that lends the surrounding area its beauty was completed, and before Mary Henderson had exhausted other proposed plans for the area. One of the most ambitious plans was the Meridian Hill Executive Mansion Project, which would have served as an ersatz presidential residence. She also attempted to have the Lincoln Memorial located at Meridian Hill Park, although that plan ultimately fell through as well. One of Mary’s successful lobbying efforts was having 16th street renamed “The Avenue of the Presidents,” although the name was promptly changed back because of the unpopularity of the renaming.

The construction of the 12-acre park began with the passage of the McMillan plan in 1902, which aimed to improve the local parks in D.C., most notably the National Mall. The plan also aimed to connect many of the city’s parkways with adjoining trails and monuments. Design for the park began in 1912, was approved in 1914, and the park was completed in 1940. Landscape architect George Burnap was initially in charge of design of the park, but because of conflicts between his public and private practice, this task was handed over to Horace Peaslee, who worked on the park between 1917 and 1935. Peaslee acquired sculptures by Josep Clara (1924), Ettore Ximenes (1921), Paul Dubois (1922), and Hans Schuler (1930). The sculpture of James Buchanan by Schuler is the only memorial to the 15th President, who is now considered to be among our country’s worst presidents. In consultation with Peaslee, John J. Earley featured new construction materials for the park, employing an exposed concrete aggregate that forms the walkways, balustrades, and planters of the park.

Today

Meridian Hill Park fell into a state of disrepair in the seventies and eighties, with violent crime and drug-dealing becoming a blight on the park. In the early 1990s, a neighborhood coalition named the Friends of Meridian Hill (FOMH) formed to revitalize the park and help combat criminal activity at the park. Because of their activity, crime in the park dropped by 98%, scores of visitors began to return to the park, and the revitalization effort began to bear fruit.

Today the park is one of the most popular public spaces in northwest D.C., featuring a large recreational field on the north half and a stunning thirteen-basin, terraced foundation lined with flowers. At the foot of the fountain is a large water basin at ground level, which on hot days attracts large groups of people. The park stands as a tribute to those who fought for its creation and those who struggled for its revitalization, and today it is one of the more beautiful public places in Washington D.C.