— Meridian Hill Park, National Historic Landmark —

At the beginning of its second century, the nation's capital was changing dramatically. In 1902, the United States Senate adopted a number of recommendations from the Senate Park Commission, popularly known as the McMillan Commission. By 1910, a federally appointed group of architects and designers, the Commission of Fine Arts, was directing the rehabilitation of the National Mall. Under their supervision, construction began on several new buildings near the Capitol, including monuments to Lincoln and Jefferson, and on a series of new parks.

Two principles guided both commissions. The first was Pierre L'Enfant's 1792 plan of the city, which had never been fully realized and had nearly been lost during the 19th century. The second was creation and maintenance of grand public spaces, as endorsed by the proponents of the City Beautiful movement of the 1890s, and exemplified by the Beaux Arts designs of the French and Italian Renaissance revivals. Serving as a "monumental entrance to Washington," Meridian Hill Park demonstrates both principles.

According to Meridian Hill Park's National Historic Landmark nomination (1994), "the creation of a Renaissance villa landscape in the midst of an American city to serve as a public park has no true parallel."

For more information go to: www.nps.gov/mehi

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