Meridian Hill Park | |
 Cascading Waterfall, by sculptorJohn Joseph Earley, is a central feature of the park. | |
| Location | Bounded by 15th,16th, Euclid, and W Streets NW Washington, D.C., U.S. |
|---|---|
| Area | 11.88 acres (4.81 ha) |
| Built | 1912-1936 |
| Architect | George Burnap Horace Peaslee |
| Architectural style | Italianate[1] |
| Part of | Meridian Hill Historic District (ID14000211) |
| NRHP reference No. | 74000273 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 25, 1974[2] |
| Designated NHL | April 19, 1994[2] |
| Designated DCIHS | November 8, 1964[2] |
Meridian Hill Park, also known asMalcolm X Park, is an urban park inWashington, D.C., located in theMeridian Hill neighborhood that straddles the border betweenAdams Morgan andColumbia Heights. The park measures 11.88 acres (4.81 ha) and is bounded by 15th,16th, W, and Euclid Streets NW. It sits on a prominent hill 1.5 miles (2.4 km) directly north of theWhite House. The park was added to theDistrict of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites in 1964, theNational Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1974, and designated aNational Historic Landmark in 1994. The park is also a central feature of theMeridian Hill Historic District, added to the NRHP in 2014.
The land where the park is located was previously inhabited by theNacotchtank tribe. In 1816, CommodoreDavid Porter purchased the land, then known as Peter's Hill, and renamed it Meridian Hill, after thegeodetic marker placed there in 1804 to establish alongitudinal meridian for the city and nation. Porter built a mansion on the hill, which was later occupied by PresidentJohn Quincy Adams. During theAmerican Civil War, the mansion and surrounding land were commandeered by theUnion Army and hosted Camp Cameron. The mansion was destroyed in a fire in 1863. The land was subdivided after the war and a black community developed there, eventually encompassing almost three dozen houses and two grocery stores.Wayland Seminary's large school building was constructed on the northeast corner of the present-day park, but demolished after the school relocated.
AfterMary Foote Henderson and her husband builtHenderson Castle across the street from Meridian Hill, she purchased surrounding lots and began developing the area, catering to wealthy residents. She used her influence with members ofCongress in her efforts, but was unsuccessful in having a new presidential mansion and theLincoln Memorial being built on Meridian Hill. After theMcMillan Plan was published in 1902, efforts were made to build a park on the hill. No action was taken until 1910 when Congress authorized its establishment. Landscape architectGeorge Burnap designed the park's initial plan, but after he was dismissed, his assistantHorace Peaslee took over the project and continued to oversee its completion. Meridian Hill Park'sItalianate design was based on Italian gardens and parks Burnap and Peaslee visited during a European tour. Architectural sculptor and carverJohn Joseph Earley used a then-new type of building material,concrete aggregate, in the park's walls, benches, fountains, and balustrades. Construction of the park took place from 1912 to 1936. During these years, five statues and memorials were erected in the park, including theJames Buchanan Memorial.
The park has hosted various social events, protests, and rallies throughout its history. Social events have included the Starlight Chamber Music Concerts series, Summer in the Park program, and cultural festivals. Protests became prominent after theassassination ofMartin Luther King Jr., withblack nationalists and black militants holding rallies there through the 1980s. Adrum circle that began after theassassination ofMalcolm X still takes place, attracting people of all races and backgrounds because of changing demographics in the area. Due to this connection, the park is often referred to as Malcolm X Park by some residents. Other protests and rallies at the park have been organized by various groups, including ones demonstrating against wars, globalization, and presidential administrations. The park once had a reputation as a dangerous place, but due to efforts initiated by neighborhood organizations, crime decreased and improvements have been made by theNational Park Service, which oversees the park.
Meridian Hill Park measures 11.88 acres (4.81 ha) and is bordered by 15th Street NW on the east,16th Street NW on the west, Euclid Street NW on the north, and W Street NW on the south.[3]: 2 [1] It is located on elevated land, part of the Wicomico-Sunderlandescarpment, in the smallMeridian Hill neighborhood which straddlesAdams Morgan andColumbia Heights.[4]: 1, 23 TheWhite House is sited 1.5 miles (2.4 km) directly south of the park, below the terminus of 16th Street NW. The park is divided into two sections, the upper (north) portion, and the lower (south) portion. The park's elevation decreases from north to south, approximately 75 feet (23 m) from its northern border on Euclid Street NW to its southern border on W Street NW.[1]: 5–6
The park faces south, originally providing sweeping views of the city. Its rectangular design features a central axis and cross axis which are then divided into asymmetrical portions.[1]: 11 The lower level of the park is wider, leading to the axis and overall design facing slightly southeast.[5]: 7 The upper and lower levels are divided by a large retaining wall.[5]: 4 The upper level features an open lawn flanked by sidewalks and trees, and a large terrace overlooking the lower level. The sidewalks on either side of the lawn were originally named Monument Vista Walk (east) and Concert Promenade (west). A winding pathway is located on the opposite sides of the trees, near the park's eastern and western borders.[1]: 5 [5]: 7 The lower level features a reflecting pool, plaza, and a cascade fountain flanked by stairways.[1]: 5 In addition to these stairways, there is a stairway on the western edge of the park and a winding path on its eastern edge.[5]: 8
The earliest known inhabitants of the land beneath present-day Meridian Hill Park were theNacotchtank tribe, who had either been chased away by white settlers or died from introduced diseases by 1700.[6]: 11, 14 At the time ofWashington, D.C.'s creation in 1790, the land was owned byRobert Peter, a wealthyGeorgetown merchant and politician, and was known as Peter's Hill.[4] The area included a stream known as Slash Run that flowed south, emptying intoTiber Creek.[7]: 324–325 In 1804, PresidentThomas Jefferson had ageodetic marker placed on this large hill. Centered exactly north of the White House, this marker helped to establish alongitudinal meridian for the city and the nation: the "White House meridian".[6]: 21–22 The land was sold to Washington Bowie in 1811 by Peter's son.[7]: 323
Following theWar of 1812, CommodoreDavid Porter acquired the hill in 1816 as part of a 110-acre (45 ha) tract of land that he had purchased for $13,000; he named this property "Meridian Hill".[4]: 25 [7]: 323 On the brow of this prominent hill on his new estate, and close to the marker, Porter reputedly commissioned architectGeorge Hadfield to design a mansion which he also named Meridian Hill.[4]: 25 The house was completed in 1819 and faced south with a dramatic view of the city.[3]: 4 It was described as "constructed of brick, stuccoed, and 90 feet wide and 54 feet deep...1½ stories with a portico 54 feet by 12 feet."[4]: 26
Due to his unsuccessful attempts to farm the land, Porter went into debt and mortgaged the property in 1820 to CommodoreJohn Rodgers. Following his presidential term, the property was leased toJohn Quincy Adams in 1829. He and his wife,Louisa, only lived there for a few months before Meridian Hill was sold to J. Florentius Cox. The property was sold to Colonel Gilbert L. Thompson and William Dorsey in 1856. Thompson reportedly ownedslaves that worked on Meridian Hill. The two men sold the property to Josiah Sturges who in turn sold it to Olivert Pettit. Shortly before the onset of theCivil War, Meridian Hill was leased to Henry Welden who operated a pleasure park on the property.[4]: 26–27 In an advertisement, Welden described the house as "large and commodious having two large dancing rooms for both ladies and gentlemen".[4]: 27 He also stated "I have erected a large pavilion for picnic parties.[4]: 27
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After the onset of the war, and with a strategic location overlooking the city, the Meridian Hill estate and mansion, along with the land of neighboring Columbian College (founded 1821, later moving and becomingGeorge Washington University), were taken for use as an army encampment named Camp Cameron.[4]: 23, 32 The mansion was converted into a military hospital. TheUnion Army regiments stationed at Camp Cameron included the8th Illinois Cavalry Regiment,19th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment,8th Michigan Infantry Regiment,1st New Jersey Infantry Regiment,3rd New York Infantry Regiment,7th New York Militia Regiment, and2nd Vermont Infantry Regiment. As was common with other Union military camps, escaped slaves andfreedmen worked or sought shelter at Camp Cameron.[4]: 32 In 1863, the mansion was destroyed in a fire. The only remaining buildings on Meridian Hill were a smaller house and barn.[7]: 323
Following the war's conclusion in 1865, Pettit sold the estate to ColonelIsaac E. Messmore in 1867, who subdivided the land.[4]: 42 [7]: 324 A small black community developed in the area, primarily in the present-day park's northeast section. The community consisted of laborers and house servants residing in simple frame homes, and a grocery store.[4]: 42 Wayland Seminary, which was founded in 1865 to educate black preachers and teachers, moved to this community when a largeSecond Empire school was built in 1875 on the corner of 15th (then called Columbia Avenue) and Euclid Streets NW.[4]: 44–45 [8] Among the alumni who attended Wayland Seminary after its move to Meridian Hill wereBooker T. Washington andAdam Clayton Powell Sr.[4]: 45 The school building was later demolished after the seminary relocated toRichmond, Virginia.[8][9] In 1883,Joaquin Miller, nicknamed the "Poet of the Sierras", built a log cabin across the street from the present-day park. He sold his house, theJoaquin Miller Cabin, to Assistant Secretary of StateAlvey A. Adee in 1887. It was later relocated toRock Creek Park.[7]: 324
In 1887, former senatorJohn B. Henderson and his wife,Mary Foote Henderson, resettled in Washington, D.C., and purchased six lots at the intersection of Boundary Street (present-dayFlorida Avenue) and the newly extended 16th Street NW. The Hendersons then built an elaborate stone house, designed to resemble a castle, which became known asHenderson Castle (also known as Boundary Castle).[4]: 62–63 [7]: 325 Mary, with many friends inCongress, had grand plans for the area, including Meridian Hill across the street from her house. She wanted to turn 16th Street NW into a "ceremonial gateway to the nation's capital" similar to theChamps-Élysées in Paris.[4]: 63 [10]: 32
Henderson put forward, without success, two ambitious proposals, one by architectPaul J. Pelz in 1898 and the second byFranklin W. Smith in 1900, both with designs to construct a colossal presidential mansion on Meridian Hill to replace the White House.[10]: 35 She also unsuccessfully lobbied for theLincoln Memorial to be built on Meridian Hill. The first Lincoln Memorial proposal Henderson lobbied for was a design by architectJohn Russell Pope. After this was rejected by theCommission of Fine Arts (CFA), she hired architectsFrederick V. Murphy and Walter B. Olmsted to design another plan. It was rejected by Congress.[4]: 64 [10]: 35
In addition to her lobbying efforts, with her own money and with architectGeorge Oakley Totten Jr., Henderson planned and then built her own real estate projects from 1906 to 1930, which included creating a succession of large, elaborate embassies and mansions along both 15th and 16th Streets NW.[4]: 65 [7]: 326 Henderson's projects transformed the Meridian Hill area into a wealthy neighborhood for white residents.[4]: 67 These formal structures, which include the present-dayEmbassy of Lithuania,Embassy of Poland, theJosephine Butler Parks Center, thePink Palace, theSpanish Cultural Institute, and the formerEmbassy of France, today frame Meridian Hill Park and help to create a thematic visual appearance to the surrounding area.[10]: 17–18
In 1902, the recently formed Senate Park Commission (with itsMcMillan Plan) undertook a set of formal changes to Washington, D.C.'s civic appearance, most famously by reconfiguring the city'sNational Mall.[4]: 71 [10]: 18, 26 This was influenced by theCity Beautiful movement, a reform philosophy in the 1890s and 1900s that sought to improve the sanitation and public spaces of cities.[10]: 34 Aspects of the plan included extending 16th Street NW beyond the city limits and building "a series of parks and parkways...to secure a harmonious and consistent building up of the entire city of Washington".[4]: 71 The plan for parks included building them on privately owned lots, including the ones between 15th and 16th Streets NW owned by Henderson. The commission recommended purchasing Henderson's land, but Congress did not follow suit.[4]: 71–72 In 1906, Henderson began lobbying members of Congress to build the park on Meridian Hill.[7]: 329
A bill was introduced in theSenate in March 1908 which read: "The object of the bill is to acquire for a government reservation tracts of land aggregating about 10 acres in extent, lying between Euclid Street, Columbia avenue or Fifteenth street, W street or Florida Avenue, and Sixteenth street extended, in Hall and Elvan’s subdivision of Meridian Hill. The reservation proposed is similar in nature to the small reservations or parks now existing throughout the city of Washington...There are no parks of this type north of Florida avenue, and nothing in the shape of public reservations to the south, except some small triangles...This proposed reservation lies along the great boulevard, Sixteenth Street, which connects the White House with Rock Creek Park."[4]: 73 Despite the Senate then passing legislation that stated, "there [was] no one site in the District as suitable for a government reservation [as Meridian Hill]", no plans were made.[4]: 73
In 1910, the CFA recommended purchasing Henderson's land. Senate Bill 7725 was proposed, which would authorize purchasing the property and condemning the buildings that stood there. On June 25, 1910, Congress approved establishing Meridian Hill Park, which would be overseen by theUnited States Army Corps of Engineers's (USACE) lead officer. Congress authorized $490,000 to purchase the property.[4]: 74 At the time there were at least 35 houses in the present-day park's boundaries, all but two occupied by black residents, and two grocery stores.[4]: 67 One of the stores was operated by Russian-Jewish immigrants.[11]Harry M. Clabaugh, chief justice of theSupreme Court of the District of Columbia, appointed white businessmen to appraise the value of these properties. A few of the property owners accepted the appraised values, but the remainder did not. The last of these holdouts were forced to relocate after theChief of Engineers approved plans to demolish all buildings within the park's boundaries viaeminent domain.[4]: 74 The remaining families that were forced to move attempted to relocate near each other.[4]: 75 The smaller house built by Porter that was not destroyed in the 1863 fire was demolished.[10]: 40
The Office of Public Buildings and Grounds (OPBG), under the jurisdiction of theInterior Department, chose its lead landscape architect,George Burnap, to design Meridian Hill Park. Burnap asked his former student,Horace Peaslee, to serve as project assistant.[5]: 14 Burnap submitted a proposed design to the CFA in April 1913 which won preliminary approval the following March.[7]: 330 A few months later, Burnap and Peaslee joined a delegation of the OPBG on a tour of major European parks in Italy, France, Spain, and Switzerland to draw inspiration for Meridian Hill Park's design.[5]: 14 [12] Burnap based his design on thePincian Hill park in Rome.[4]: 77–78 It was to be "centered around a single, longitudinal axis extending roughly north-south through the site."[1]: 5 It included anItalian Renaissance-style terraced fountain cascade with pools and a plaza in the lower level of the park, and a grand terrace, fountain, and formal gardens in aFrench Baroque style in the upper level.[1]: 5, 10 His initial plan also included a requirement by the CFA for a memorial to former PresidentJames Buchanan.[7]: 330
Construction of the park began in 1915 when architectural sculptor and craftsmanJohn Joseph Earley started work on building massive retaining walls facing 16th Street NW.[4]: 78 [5]: 16 This wall supports the upper level of the park, which rises above a sloping hill overlooking the lower level.[1]: 5–6 The original design was for the retaining wall to be covered in stucco. Earley found the finish product "dull".[4]: 78 He began working withconcrete aggregate, a then-new type of building material consisting of a specially washed and exposed-pebble surface set into the concrete substrate. He called this material "architectural concrete".[4]: 78 Earley would go on to use this material for walls, fountains, benches, and balustrades throughout the park. Construction of the retaining wall was finished by April 1916, and a few months later, work on grading the lower level was also completed.[4]: 78 [5]: 47 By that point, $152,500 had been spent on the design and construction of the park, not counting the initial purchase of the land.[5]: 36
Burnap was dismissed from the OPBG in August 1916 and Peaslee took over his role as lead landscape architect the following year.[1]: 6 [13] He altered some of the design features, which included replacing the planned formal gardens on the upper level with an open mall, suitable for gatherings and performances. He also simplified the reflecting pool design and removed a planned bridge over the cascading waterfall.[1]: 6 Peaslee drew inspiration from theVilla Borghese gardens andVilla d'Este in Italy, with the end result being Meridian Hill Park's design based on a collection of Italian gardens and parks.[3]: 6 [14] After submitting a proposal to the CFA in 1919, landscape architectural firmVitale, Brinckerhoff, and Geiffert was hired to design the planting scheme. Their recommendations were included in the park's design the following year.[5]: 21 Between 1917 and 1923, an additional $240,000 was spent on the park's construction.[5]: 36
After the park's upper level was completed in 1923, that portion was opened to the public.[4]: 78 The first public artworks in the park were installed in the 1920s: theDante Alighieri statue, theJoan of Arc equestrian statue, and theSerenity sculpture.[5]: 32–33 The Meridian marker installed in 1804 was removed when 16th Street NW was widened. It was relocated to the southwest corner of14th and R Streets NW and used as a carriage step stool. It is unknown what happened to the marker since that time. A plaque was installed on the park's 16th Street NW retaining wall noting the marker's former location.[5]: 6
During the early years of the park's construction, the surrounding real estate market began to develop. After successfully thwartingHarry Wardman's plan to construct an apartment building on the northern edge of the park, Henderson was unable to stop theMeridian Mansions being built just north of her home, across the street from the park. Of greater concern was construction of the eight-storyHadleigh Apartments (now known as the Camden Roosevelt) on the southern edge of the park which partially blocked sweeping views of the city. The planned roof garden withpergolas was not built after Henderson used her influence with members of Congress to have a bill passed in 1920 limiting the Hadleigh's height.[10]: 44–45
Work on the park's lower level was delayed due to a lack of funding from Congress.[7]: 330 Between 1924 and 1927, only $98,460 was allocated for the park's construction.[5]: 36 Following debate between members of theHouse of Representatives and Senate, $92,554 was allocated for work in 1928, less than one-fifth of the requested $500,000 to complete the lower park's original design. Due to these limits, Peaslee submitted a final redesign to the CFA which was approved in March 1928.[5]: 36 [7]: 330 The changes included eliminating a planned concert pavilion and an elaborate entrance facing 16th Street NW.[5]: 23 Funding did increase the following years, with over $400,000 allocated between 1929 and 1932.[5]: 36 Most of the park's major projects were completed by 1932, which included thememorial to Buchanan. The following year, ownership of the park was transferred to theNational Park Service (NPS).[1]: 6 No funds were allocated for the park's construction between 1933 and 1935. During the last year of construction by thePublic Works Administration in 1936, $145,000 was spent, bring the total cost of the project to $1,536,209. (equivalent to $34,809,685.47 in 2024)[5]: 24, 36 Meridian Hill Park officially opened to the public on September 26, 1936.[4]: 10 Two months later, the last major public artwork in the park, theNoyes Armillary Sphere, was installed.[15]
Despite OPBG directorClarence O. Sherrill and his successorUlysses S. Grant III enforcingsegregtion in many of the city's public spaces, Meridian Hill Park was never officially segregated.[4]: 80–82 This did not stop some white residents from avoiding the park or complaining about the presence of black visitors, many of whom lived in nearby predominantly black neighborhoods. In a letter to the OPBG, a white resident wrote: "Do you know that young colored men + boys are using the beautiful main entrance to Meridian Hill Park for a meeting place, where they have a general good time singing, dancing + music with guitar and ukulele? Those amusements are all right in their place, but I think that is hardly the place...Please do something about it."[4]: 82–84 Despite such protests, black residents continued visiting the park.[4]: 84
Meridian Hill Park has a long history of hosting social events, including concerts and theater performances. Concerts by theUnited States Marine Band,United States Navy Band, andUnited States Army Band took place from the 1920s until the 1950s. The Rambling Theater project, which performed plays throughout the city's parks, was established in 1935 and held events at Meridian Hill Park for a few years.[4]: 92–93 DuringWorld War II, the city's population dramatically increased and programs were held to entertain residents. From 1941 to 1944, Starlight Chamber Music Concerts took place in the park's lower level, which accommodated up to 2,000 people. Performers included thePrimrose Quartet, theTrapp Family Singers, and theMartha Graham Dance Company. In 1943,The Washington Post sponsored the Post Starlight Concerts series at the park. After theNational Theatre closed after refusing to integrate its audience, the Washington Theatre Festival took place at the park in 1949, welcoming all races. The festival included the construction of a temporary stage and opened with a performance starringElisabeth Bergner.[4]: 94–97
In addition to these concerts and theater performances, during the war the park hosted anincendiary bomb demonstration for local air raid wardens, drilling practices for theAmerican Legion, and services markingFlag Day. After the war, many religious events took place at the park, including an event in 1948 that led to noise complaints from area residents. The NPS responded by denying event park permits "for any other purposes than those for which the area primarily is devoted".[4]: 102 This policy excluded events which took place on religious holidays.[4]: 100–102 In April 1952,Queen Juliana of the Netherlands attended a concert at the park along with PresidentHarry S. Truman. She presented Truman with a temporarycarillon, a gift symbolizing the friendshipbetween the two countries, which remained in the park until theNetherlands Carillon project was completed in 1954.[4]: 98 [16]WWDC held a carillon concert series at the park during the summer of 1952.[4]: 99 In 1958, theanti-nuclear Walk for Peace Committee held an event in the park. Another anti-nuclear group, theCommittee for Non-Violent Action, held a similar event there two years later.[4]: 122–123
White flight and planning forurban renewal projects escalated in the 1960s, resulting in a large proportion of black andHispanic/Latino residents in the surrounding area.[4]: 115–117 Poverty and crime in the neighborhood increased, with visitors in the park sometimes attacked, leading to it being seen as a "safe haven" for criminals.[4]: 119 The University Neighborhood Council (UNC), a local group formed to improve the community nearHoward University, began planning social events to revive the park. The UNC hosted four free concerts in 1963, with the last being attended by approximately 7,000 people. Performers included the Watergate Symphony Band, Capital Wood Wind Quartet, and the Meridian Hill String Quartet. The events were such a success that the summer concert series continued through 1966. To better reflect the neighborhood demographics, the series included music and cultural dances by Jamaican, Trinidadian, and Mexican performers. The UNC also hosted an Art in the Park program until 1966.[4]: 123–126 On November 8, 1964, the park was added to theDistrict of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites.[2]
Following the 1965assassination ofMalcolm X, adrum circle was held at the park as a way of honoring his memory. TheHoward Theatre's house drummer, Baba Nogoma, was the first person to drum at the park. The drum circle became a weekly event which still takes place.[4]: 133, 188 After the UNC discontinued the concert series, the park sat mostly empty and became the second most dangerous park in the city.[4]: 126 The city zoning commission began to allow "high-rise, medium-high density apartments" in the neighborhood, and shortly after the ten-story Meridian Towers apartment building was constructed in 1968 on the southern edge of the park, further obstructing views of the city.[4]: 116 Henderson Castle, which had been demolished in 1949, was replaced with 216 townhomes in the 1970s.[17]
The1968 Washington, D.C., riots that followed theassassination ofMartin Luther King Jr. had a profound effect on parts of the city, including the Meridian Hill neighborhood. The federal government worked with religious and community leaders, neighborhood associations, and political groups to restore the area.[4]: 113–114 Industrial designerRussel Wright was hired by the NPS to suggest improvements to area parks. The changes to Meridian Hill Park included installation of concealed lighting along sidewalks and sprays in the reflecting pool, and the addition of picnic tables, chairs, concession stands, badminton courts, and volleyball courts.[4]: 127–129 The cascading waterfall and other fountains in the park were equipped with a night-time lighting system.[3]: 6
A few months after the riots, the Summer in the Park program was established, to encourage inner-city youth to enjoy local parks. The program's opening event, attended by approximately 20,000 people, was hosted by actressPearl Bailey and socialitePerle Mesta. Performers included Bailey,Cab Calloway,Hildegarde, and local dance and drummer troupes.[4]: 127–129 Following the event's success, additional programs were established at the park, including talent shows, a puppet theater, concerts, and outdoor film screenings. For African Day, the upper level of the park hosted a bazaar for African goods, a fashion show featuring African clothing, along with music and dance performances.[4]: 132
After the assassination of King,black nationalists and black militants began holding events at the park. TheBlack Panther Party (BPP), Black United Front (BUF), andAll-African People's Revolutionary Party (A-APRP) held rallies there during the late 1960s and early 1970s, the latter organizing annual events forAfrican Liberation Day andMalcolm X Day.[4]: 133, 143 During a 1969 event honoring Malcolm X's birthday, singerRoberta Flack performed.[4]: 159 At a 1970 rally, BPP deputy ministerElbert Howard addressed the approximately 3,000 people in attendance at the park in hopes of securing a location for theRevolutionary People's Constitutional Convention's second meeting. That meeting took place three months later and a concert was held in the park, attended by 3,000 to 5,000 people. According toThe Washington Post, "the session ended with the formation of a coalition among the Panthers, Women's Liberation and Gay Liberation movement...to push for the issue of equal rights in the new [Panthers] constitution."[4]: 160
At some point in the late 1960s, black activists began using the name Malcolm X Park when referring to Meridian Hill Park.[4]: 157–158 According to author George Derek Musgrove, "one of the things that the activists that renamed the park wanted to ensure was that that area was black people's land".[18] It is unknown who coined the term, but according to BUF member R. H. Booker, his group did. The BUF "felt entitled to rename the park because neighboring Columbia Heights and Reed-Cooke was a bastion of black activism and community groups staged rallies in the park to support the Black Panthers, Pan-Africanism, and myriad local causes."[4]: 157–158 ActivistAngela Davis has often been credited with coining the term, but according to historian Elise Elder in her NPS reportMeridian Hill Park - African American Experiences Since the Civil War: A Special Resource Study, no evidence has been found to support this claim.[4]: 158 In 1970, RepresentativeAdam Clayton Powell Jr. of New York introduced a bill in Congress to change the park's name to Malcolm X Park, but he was unsuccessful. According to the NPS, the presence of a presidential memorial in the park means it cannot be named after anyone else.[4]: 158–159
Protests and rallies at the park covering a myriad of issues continued throughout the 1970s.[4]: 160–164 Protests against theVietnam War took place in 1971 and 1974, including one by the Third World Task Force Against the War in Southeast Asia. The roughly 2,000 supporters at the park marched to the National Mall where they joined 200,000 protesters at the Vietnam War Out Now rally.[4]: 161, 180 When Davis was acquitted of charges in 1972 related to theMarin County Civic Center attacks, a celebration was held at the park by the D.C. Committee to Free Angela Davis.[4]: 161 That same year around 800 teachers held a rally, protesting pay and class sizes. ActivistJulius Hobson spoke at a rally in 1973 protesting the city's treatment of prisoners. A few months later, Korean Americans protested the kidnapping of activist and future South Korean presidentKim Dae-jung.[4]: 180
Members of theWorkers League andYoung Socialist Alliance marched from the park toLafayette Square in 1974. Additional rallies held that decade include three (1973, 1976, 1979) opposingapartheid in South Africa, and one in 1976 supporting theWilmington Ten.[4]: 162–164 In 1978, around 3,000 people attended a rally organized by theAmerican Indian Movement. Speakers included actorsMarlon Brando andDick Gregory, and politicianDouglas E. Moore.[4]: 181 In addition to rallies and protests, social events took place at the park during the 1970s. A concert in 1973 featuredMillie Jackson, two members ofThe Manhattans, andFather's Children. In 1975, the Ghana Festival took place, featuring Ghanaianfilms andmusic. After the Summer in the Arts program ceased in 1976, Tomorrow World's Art Center began hosting an art festival. The Caribbean Summer in the Parks event was held at the park in 1978, which included music and dancing.[4]: 169, 185
On October 25, 1974, the park was added to theNational Register of Historic Places (NRHP).[2] Because of this, there were efforts to clean up and refurbish the often trash-ridden and dangerous park. In 1976, repairs were made to fountain plumbing, sidewalks, and lighting fixtures. Seven maintenance workers were assigned to the park and it was frequently patrolled by theUnited States Park Police (USPP). In 1981, the NPS instituted a curfew at the park at 9pm, but despite these changes, a large number of crimes still took place.[4]: 171–173 Courtland Milloy, a columnist forThe Washington Post, called it "Crack Park" because "people congregate [there] throughout the night to deal in crack. They smoke it, sell it, trade sex for it, and, when push comes to shove, pull out guns for it."[4]: 173 According to Michael Willrich, author ofThe Autobiography of Malcolm X Park,crack was sold in the surrounding area during the 1980s. The park was predominantly a place where marijuana was sold.[4]: 173
In 1981 and 1982, the All-African Cultural Festival included food, music, dancing, and crafts. The first years of the city's reggae festival took place at the park and included performances byCarl Malcolm and several reggae bands.[4]: 169–170 During the 1980s, additional protests took place at the park. A rally supporting the1980 Miami riots was sponsored by the BUF,NAACP, andNational Urban League.[4]: 164–165 TheRevolutionary Communist Party, USA, staged a rally in 1980, then marched through areas of the city damaged during the 1968 riots. Thousands of protesters gathered in 1982 to demonstrate against PresidentRonald Reagan's foreign policy towards El Salvador, marching from the park to the White House.[19] The 1983Gay and Lesbian Pride Day parade route began at the park.[4]: 182
The A-APRP continued hosting annual Africa Liberation Day events, including one in 1983 attended by an estimated 3,000 people, and another in 1985 with approximately 2,000 people.[4]: 164–165 During the late-1980s, protests by black nationalists no longer took place at the park due to the demise of the BPP and other militant groups.[4]: 166 In 1986, MayorMarion Barry and actressBetty Thomas spoke at rally honoring theGreat Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament. The following year, around 500 fundamentalistMuslim Students Association members loyal toRuhollah Khomeini demonstrated at the park before marching to theIslamic Center of Washington.[4]: 182
Trash, graffiti, and crime continued to plague the park in the early 1990s. In response, neighborhood residents became more involved in the park's stewardship and programming, and four people (Steve Colman,Josephine Butler, Morris Samuel and Howard Coleman) formed the Friends of Meridian Hill (FMH) in 1990. This organization organized volunteer nighttime patrols to combat crime, planted trees, produced a wide range of community arts and educational programs in the park, including twilight concerts, and suggested improvements to the NPS.[4]: 175–177 While these changes were made, an anti-war protest took place in 1991 by members of the National African-American Network Against U.S. Intervention in the Gulf, demonstrating against theGulf War. A local social activist, Dick Gregory, began a planned winter-long protest in 1993 to highlight the city's drug epidemic and alcohol consumption. His efforts led to "no alcoholic beverages" being installed in the park.[4]: 166
Along with improvements by the FMH and NPS, the USPP added plainclothes officers and K-9 unit patrols to further deter crime. Incidences of crime decreased by 82% between 1990 and 1992, and by 1993, the park was relatively safe.[4]: 177 On April 19, 1994, the park was designated aNational Historic Landmark.[2] A few days later onEarth Day, PresidentBill Clinton delivered an environmental address at the park and mentioned the efforts by the FMH. A month later, Clinton presented the organization with the Partnership Leadership Award in a White House ceremony.[4]: 177–178 The FMH merged with the Friends of District of Columbia Parks and Recreation in 1998 to form Washington Parks & People.[4]: 179
Meridian Hill Park continued to host rallies and protests in the 21st century. In April 2000, the Mobilization for Global Justicestaged a protest against theInternational Monetary Fund andWorld Bank, including speeches and a concert held at the park. Anotheranti-globalization protest attended by around 3,000 people took place in 2001, hosted by theWashington Peace Center andAmerican Friends Service Committee's local office. In the lead up to the2003 invasion of Iraq, a protest march organized byCode Pink began at the park. Speakers at the rally included singerMichelle Shocked, novelistMaxine Hong Kingston, activistHelen Caldicott, and authorAlice Walker, who had previously writtenMeridian, whose protagonist is named Meridian Hill.[4]: 134, 183 Black Voices for Peace, led by activistDamu Smith, staged a rally in 2003protesting the war in Iraq. Speakers included activistsMartin Luther King III,Walter Fauntroy, and talk show hostJoe Madison.[4]: 166 Additional protests at the park during the 2000s include ones demonstrating against the2004 election of PresidentGeorge W. Bush and passage of theEmergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.[4]: 184
In 2012, Howard University students staged a rally protesting thekilling ofTrayvon Martin andracial profiling. When the shooter,George Zimmerman, was found not guilty in 2013, a prayer vigil took place at the park. The following year, another prayer vigil took place after thekilling of Michael Brown.[4]: 166–167 During thesecond inauguration of PresidentBarack Obama, protests gathered at the park demonstrated againstdrone warfare, theNational Defense Authorization Act, and the imprisonment ofChelsea Manning.[20] Protests occurred during thefirst andsecond inaugurations of PresidentDonald Trump in 2017 and 2025, respectively.[21][22]
On May 21, 2014, theMeridian Hill Historic District was added to the NRHP.[23] The historic district encompasses the park, and 51contributing buildings and objects located along 15th and 16th Streets NW, and some nearby streets.[10]: 3–4 The NPS hosted the first National Park Rx Day at Meridian Hill Park in 2016, which includedZumba classes, walking, and bicycle rides.[24] In 2020, the park's lower level was closed by the NPS for a multi-year rehabilitation project. Repairs were made to damaged walls, sidewalks, and stairs. A wheelchair accessible entrance was installed, and over two dozen trees and almost 500 shrubs planted. The lower level reopened in 2023.[25][26] Despite these improvements, the cascading fountain was not repaired.[27] Social events continue to be held at the park, including snowball fights, soccer and frisbee games, and the long-running drum circle.[4]: 187 [28]
On Sunday afternoons, people gather in the upper park to dance and participate in the drum circle. This activity regularly attracts both enthusiastic dancers and professional drummers.[29][30] Despitegentrification of the surrounding neighborhoods, the drum circle attracts black residents who still hold a strong connection to the park, especially since they were the only ones attending it for decades.[4]: 168 [18] Due to the change in demographics, people of all races and backgrounds attend the drum circle, sometimes to the annoyance of longtime participants.[4]: 187–191 [30] This diversity in park attendance has led to it being called "a virtual Bruegel painting of the human tableaux that represents the adjacent neighborhoods of Adams Morgan, Mount Pleasant, Columbia Heights, and Shaw."[4]: 187
A central feature of Meridian Hill Park is the 13-basinCascading Waterfall which was inspired by 16th-century Italian villas. Located in the park's lower level, the concrete fountain was designed with a recirculating water system featuring an elaborate series of pumps. Water from two fountains on the terrace flows down to three columns and two spills located in a retaining wall. From there the water flows into two basins and spouts and overflows into thirteen cascading basins. The length of the basins increases as water flows down to a pool at the bottom of the waterfall. The pool features waterspouts depicting grotesque masks, water flowing from two dolphin carvings, and multiple jets.[5]: 26 [31]
There are five statues and memorials in the park. The first one,Dante Alighieri, was installed in 1921 and depicts Italian poet and philosopherDante Alighieri, considered one of the greatest literary figures of theLate Middle Ages.[32]: 416 He is one of Italy'snational poets, the "father" of theItalian language, and his workDivina Commedia (Divine Comedy) is one of the greatest pieces of Italian literary work.[33][34][35] The statue, by artistEttore Ximenes, was a gift of Italian American businessmanCarlo Barsotti, founder ofIl Progresso Italo-Americano.[36][37] It is a cast of the statue in New York City'sDante Park which was also installed in 1921.[38] The statue in Meridian Hill Park was dedicated on December 1, 1921.[38] Among those in attendance at the ceremony were PresidentWarren G. Harding and First LadyFlorence Harding, Italian and French diplomats, and hundreds of Italian Americans.[36] The statue is located east of theCascading Waterfall, in an area nicknamed the Poet's Corner.[5]: 32 [39]: 35
The second statue installed in the park wasJoan of Arc, the only equestrian statue in Washington, D.C., depicting a woman.[40]Joan of Arc was a French heroine andpatron saint who successfully led troops during thesiege of Orléans. She was laterput on trial for heresy and burned at the stake around the age of nineteen.[32]: 418 She became a national symbol of France beginning in the 1800s and wascanonized byPope Benedict XV in 1920.[41][42] A proposal to install a statue of Joan of Arc was initiated in 1916 by Carlo Polifeme, president of the Society of Women of France of New York (Société des Femmes de France de New York).[43] Several years later, a cast ofthe equestrian statue by artistPaul Dubois was completed.[32]: 418 The base was designed byMcKim, Mead & White.[44] The statue was dedicated on January 6, 1922, a few weeks after theDante Alighieri ceremony.[38] Harding and his wife also attended the event, along with Secretary of WarJohn W. Weeks,Daughters of the American Revolution presidentAnne Rogers Minor, numerous diplomats, and members of French American societies.[45] The sword Joan of Arc holds has been stolen and replaced many times.[46] The statue is located in the center of the grand terrace, overlooking the park's lower level.[5]: 32
Serenity, anallegorical sculpture by Spanish-Catalan artistJosep Clarà, was commissioned by American businessman and art dealerCharles Deering.[32]: 419 [47] He dedicated it to his lifelong friend, Lieutenant CommanderWilliam H. Schuetze, who traveled toSiberia to search for survivors of the ill-fatedJeannette expedition, and later served in theWhite Squadron and as a navigator on theUSSIowa during theSpanish–American War.[32]: 419 [48] Installation of the sculpture in Meridian Hill Park was completed in July 1925.[49] Schuetze's name, carved into the granite base, is misspelled.[39]: 42 Due to a long history of repeated damage inflicted uponSerenity, the sculpture has been described as the "most vandalized memorial" in Washington, D.C.[50] The sculpture is located along a pathway in the northwest portion of the park and is partially obscured by trees.[5]: 33 [51]
TheJames Buchanan Memorial, which honors PresidentJames Buchanan, was in the original plans of the park.[5]: 20 It was sculpted by German American artistHans Schuler.[52]Harriet Lane, Buchanan's niece who served asfirst lady during his presidential term since he was a bachelor, bequeathed $100,000 for a memorial to be erected in Washington, D.C., in honor of her uncle.[39]: 42 [53] Due to delays on preparing the park's lower level in the 1920s, the memorial was not dedicated until June 26, 1930.[5]: 20 [54] Attendees at the ceremony included PresidentHerbert Hoover, Secretary of the TreasuryAndrew Mellon, and Secretary of WarDwight F. Davis.[55] Extending on each side of Buchanan's statue is a stoneexedra. At each end of the exedra is a concrete sculpture, one representing Law and the other Democracy. It is located on the southeast corner of the park, near the reflecting pool.[52]
TheNoyes Armillary Sphere is anarmillary sphere by artistC. Paul Jennewein. Funding for the sculpture was provided by artist Bertha Noyes, who donated $15,000 toward the project's cost in honor of her deceased sister, Edith. The design was inspired byPaul Manship's Cochran Armillary located on the campus ofPhillips Academy in Massachusetts.[56]: 2 [57] It was installed in 1935, but work was not completed until the following year.[58][59][15] A bronzecalibration plaque, located on a cast iron post by the sphere, was later installed to correct errors with time precision.[56]: 1 Decorative armillary spheres were added on top of the wrought-iron fence located on the north end of the park.[5]: 34 Due to damage, the sphere was removed in 1973 and placed into storage for repairs.[56]: 1 Some point after that it was either lost or stolen.[57] Using original drawings and photographs of the sphere, Kreilick Conservation LLC created a replica, which was installed in 2024.[60][61] It is located south of the reflecting pool.[5]: 33
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