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With one week left to #DCHistCon, our feature this week is Ward 1’s Meridian Hill (Malcolm X) Park. Register for the conference then head to D.C.’s European-inspired urban park to enjoy the fall colors, waning autumn sun, and views of the city. https://bit.ly/dchistcon2020
Meridian Hill Park was conceived and constructed in fits and starts over a 26-year period beginning in 1910. Located between 15th and 16th streets just beyond Florida Avenue, formerly Boundary Street, the park overlooks the city. https://www.nps.gov/places/meridian-hill-park.htm
Before construction of the park, the area was rural, interspersed with estates. The site itself was home to a post-Civil War African American settlement where some 200 long-standing free and recently-free Black people built a comfortable community. (
prior to 1914, credit: CFA)
prior to 1914, credit: CFA)
Mary Henderson, a prominent developer and student of the City Beautiful Movement, wanted to beautify the outskirts of the city, create a “ceremonial gateway” into the capital along 16th St, and enhance her own real estate investment. https://www.nps.gov/rocr/learn/historyculture/henderson.htm
Henderson first developed her own imposing castle-type home followed by a series of mansions for wealthy residents and foreign legations. Using her connections, she lobbied Congress to purchase the land, evict its inhabitants, and demolish their houses. ( post 1914; ca 1920s)
post 1914; ca 1920s)
Inspired by formal Italian Renaissance gardens and taking advantage of the natural topography of Meridian Hill, architects George Burnap and Horace Peaslee, designed the park with a formal, upper terrace overlooking cascading falls.
The lower park features a reflecting pool, plaza, wooded coves, and intimate gardens flanking the series of water basins. A massive retaining wall of exposed aggregate created by John J. Earley, encloses the park. https://historicsites.dcpreservation.org/items/show/670 https://tclf.org/pioneer/john-joseph-earley
Completed in 1936, the park became a popular gathering place for city residents. Activists held civil rights rallies and staged demonstrations and marches on their way to the White House. It’s city legend that Angela Davis proposed the name Malcolm X Park.
Never officially renamed, the park is known by both. In 1994 the park was designated a National Historic Landmark and in 2014, it was included in the National Register listed as Meridian Hill Historic District. https://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/publication/attachments/Meridian%20Hill%20Historic%20District%20NR%20FINAL.pdf
