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President's Park
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location:	District of Columbia, USA
Coordinates:	38°53′46.30″N 77°2′11.61″W / 38.896194°N 77.0365583°W / 38.896194; -77.0365583Coordinates: 38°53′46.30″N 77°2′11.61″W / 38.896194°N 77.0365583°W / 38.896194; -77.0365583
Area:	18.07 acres (73,130 m²)
Built:	1791
Architect:	L'Enfant,Pierre C.; Downing,A.J.
Visitation:	1,333,967 (2004)
Governing body:	National Park Service
NRHP Reference#:	80000347[1]
Added to NRHP:	May 6, 1980

President's Park, located in Washington, D.C., encompasses the White House, a visitor center, Lafayette Square, and The Ellipse. President's Park was the original name of Lafayette Square. The current President's Park is administered by the National Park Service.^[2]

White House[link]

Washington, D.C. was designated as the site for the United States capital in the 1790 Residence Act, with authority given to President George Washington to ready the capital for the government by 1800. Contests were held to solicit votes for both the United States Capitol and the President's residence. James Hoban's design was selected, and he supervised the construction. Later on, the White House was expanded with the West Wing, which now houses the office of the president and staff. The White House grounds include the South Lawn, Rose Garden, Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, and North Lawn.

Lafayette Square[link]

Lafayette Square is a seven-acre (30,000 m²) public park located directly north of the White House on H Street, bounded by Jackson Place on the west, Madison Place on the east, and Pennsylvania Avenue. The square and the surrounding structures were designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1970. Planned as part of the pleasure grounds surrounding the Executive Mansion, this square was originally called "President's Park", which is now the name of the larger National Park Service unit. The park was separated from the White House grounds in 1804, when President Thomas Jefferson had Pennsylvania Avenue cut through. In 1824, the park was officially renamed in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, the Frenchman who fought in the American Revolutionary War.

Aerial view of Lafayette Square (foreground).

Lafayette Square has been used as a racetrack, a graveyard, a zoo, a slave market, an encampment for soldiers during the War of 1812, and many political protests and celebrations. Andrew Jackson Downing landscaped Lafayette Square in 1851 in the picturesque style.

The Ellipse[link]

Aerial view of the Ellipse

President's Park South (commonly called the Ellipse) is a 52-acre (210,000 m²) park located just south of the White House fence. Properly, the Ellipse is the name of the five-furlong (1 km) circumference street within the park. The entire park is open to the public, and features various monuments. The Ellipse is also the location for a number of annual events. D.C. locals can often be heard to say they are "on the Ellipse", which is understood to mean that the individual is on the field that is bounded by Ellipse Road.

History[link]

In 1791, the first plan for the park was drawn up by Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant. The Ellipse was known as "the White Lot" due to the whitewashed wooden fence that enclosed the park.

During the American Civil War, the grounds of the Ellipse and incomplete Washington Monument were used as corrals for horses, mules, and cattle, and as camp sites for Union troops.

The Army Corps of Engineers began work on the Ellipse in 1867. The park was landscaped in 1879, and American Elms were planted around the existing portion of roadway. In 1880, grading was begun and the Ellipse was created from what had been a common dump. In 1894, the Ellipse roadway was lit with electric lamps.

On Christmas Eve 1923, President Calvin Coolidge started an unbroken tradition by lighting the first "National Christmas Tree". The first tree, a cut balsam fir, was placed on the Ellipse by the District of Columbia Public Schools. From 1924 to 1953, live trees in various locations around and on the White House grounds were lit on Christmas Eve. In 1954, the ceremony returned to the Ellipse and with an expanded focus: the "Christmas Pageant of Peace". From 1954 through 1972, cut trees were used, but in 1973 a Colorado blue spruce from York, Pennsylvania was planted on the Ellipse. A replacement was planted in 1978.

Features[link]

• Visitor pavilion (location of visitor facilities staffed by National Park Rangers and National Park Service volunteers)
• Boy Scout Memorial by Donald De Lue
• Bulfinch Gatehouses by Charles Bulfinch
• Butt-Millet Memorial Fountain by Thomas Hastings and Daniel Chester French
• Enid Haupt Fountains
• First Division Monument by Daniel Chester French
• Second Division Memorial by James Earle Fraser
• Original Settlers of the District of Columbia Memorial by Carl Mose
• National Christmas Tree
• Zero Milestone

White House Visitor Center[link]

The White House Visitor Center is located in the north end of the Herbert C. Hoover Building (the Department of Commerce headquarters between 14th Street and 15th Street on Pennsylvania Avenue NW). The visitor center serves as a starting point for those going on a reserved tour of the White House. The various exhibits also provide an alternative visitor experience for those who did not schedule a tour. The themes of the six permanent exhibits are First Families, Symbols & Images, White House Architecture, White House Interiors, Working White House, and Ceremonies and Celebrations. Other exhibits change throughout the year.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• The National Parks: Index 2001-2003. Washington: U.S. Department of the Interior.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: President's Park, Washington, D.C.

• The White House
• White House Historical Association
• The Shape and History of The Ellipse in Washington, D.C. by Clark Kimberling

v t e White House Complex White House Executive Residence Basement Basement Ground floor China Room Office of the Curator Diplomatic Reception Room Chief Floral Designer Library Map Room Vermeil Room State floor Blue Room Cross Hall East Room Entrance Hall Family Dining Room Grand Staircase Green Room Red Room South Portico State Dining Room Chief Usher Second floor Center Hall Dressing Room East Bedroom East Sitting Hall Family Kitchen Lincoln Bedroom Lincoln Sitting Room President's Bedroom President's Dining Room Private Sitting Room Queens' Bedroom Queens' Sitting Room Treaty Room Truman Balcony West Bedroom West Sitting Hall Yellow Oval Room Third floor Center Hall Diet Kitchen Linen Room Music Room Sun Room Work-out Room 80px West Wing Cabinet Room Executive Office Oval Office Press Briefing Room Roosevelt Room Situation Room East Wing Office of the First Lady Graphics and Calligraphy Office Presidential Emergency Operations Center Social Secretary Grounds The Ellipse Jacqueline Kennedy Garden Lafayette Square North Lawn President's Park Rose Garden South Lawn Annex Eisenhower Executive Office Building White House Conference Center Blair House Streets 15th Street 17th Street Constitution Avenue E Street East Executive Avenue H Street NW Hamilton Place Jackson Place Madison Place Pennsylvania Avenue State Place West Executive Avenue