President’s Park
Vorlage:Infobox protected area President's Park, located in Washington, D.C., United States, includes the White House, a visitor center, Lafayette Park, and the Ellipse. President's Park was the original name of Lafayette Park and Square. The current President's Park is administered by the National Park Service.
White House
The White House Complex is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. It includes:
- The White House Executive Residence, official residence of the President of the United States. The residence is open to the public for reserved tours. Requests for tour reservations must be submitted through one's Member of Congress and are accepted one to six months in advance.
- The West Wing, office of the President and staff. The West Wing is closed to the public.
- The East Wing, office space for the First Lady, White House Social Secretary, and other staff. The East Wing is closed to the public.
- The White House Gardens including the South Lawn, Rose Garden, Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, and North Lawn. The gardens are open to public tours seasonally by advance appointment through an individual's senator or member of congress.
White House Visitor Center
The White House Visitor Center is located in the north end of the Herbert C. Hoover Building (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 alternate visitor experience for those who did not schedule a tour. The themes of the six permanent exhibits include First Families, Symbols & Images, White House Architecture, White House Interiors, Working White House, and Ceremonies and Celebrations. A variety of other exhibits change frequently during the year.
Lafayette Park
Lafayette Park is a 7 acre (30,000 m²) public park located directly north of the White House on H Street between 15th and 17th Streets, NW. The park 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 park 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 General Lafayette of France.
Lafayette Park has been used as a race track, 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 Park in 1851 in the picturesque style. Today's plan, with its five large statues, dates from the 1930s. In the center stands Clark Mills' equestrian statue of President Andrew Jackson, erected in 1853; in the four corners are statues of Revolutionary War heroes: France's General Marquis Gilbert de Lafayette and Major General Comte Jean de Rochambeau; Poland's General Thaddeus Kosciuszko; Prussia's Major General Baron Frederich Wilhelm von Steuben.
The Ellipse (President's Park South)
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 5 furlong (1 km) circumference street within the park. The entire park is open to the public.
Features
- Visitor pavilion. Location of visitor facilities and staffed by park rangers and NPS volunteers.
- Boy Scout Memorial by Donald De Lue
- Bulfinch Gatehouses by Charles Bulfinch
- Butt–Millet Memorial Fountain by 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
Annual events on the Ellipse include the Christmas Pageant of Peace, the "Twilight Tattoo" military pageant, and the graduation ceremony for George Washington University. It is also the queueing location for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll and the White House garden tours. Under the auspices of the National Park Service, the Capital Alumni Network and a number of neighborhood and military sports leagues play softball and flag football games on the grounds of the Ellipse. A number of Ultimate frisbee competitions are also held by various groups throughout the warmer months.
Of interest to mathematics teachers, students, engineers, and landscape architects is the likelihood that the Ellipse is the world's largest ellipse. Here are some measurements:
- Major axis: Vorlage:Convert
- Minor axis: Vorlage:Convert
- Area: 751,071.67 square feet (more than 16 acres)
- Perimeter: Vorlage:Convert
The Meridian Stone, located near the center of the Ellipse, slightly under the surface, commemorates President Thomas Jefferson's idea of an American prime meridian. Remarkably precise measurements for the little brass hole at the top the granite Meridian Stone are as follows:
- Latitude: 38° 53' 38.17002" North of the Equator
- Longitude: 77° 02' 11.55845" West of Greenwich Meridian
- Elevation: 5.205 meters above sea level
History
In 1791, the first plan for the park was drawn up by Pierre 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, also camp sites for Union Troops.
Work on the Ellipse was begun by the Army Corps of Engineers 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.
In the 1890s, Congress authorized the use of the Ellipse grounds to special groups including religious meetings and military encampments. As late as 1990 baseball fields and tennis courts existed in the park. Today sporting events as well as demonstrations are still held on the Ellipse. President's Park South came under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service in 1933.
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 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. The current tree is a replacement, planted in 1978.
In 1942, during World War II, the National Park Service granted permission for the construction of barracks as a special emergency war-time measure. The temporary barracks were erected on the south side of the Old Executive Office Building and the entire First Division Monument grounds. The "White House Barracks" were demolished in 1954.
The Ellipse Visitor Pavilion was opened for visitors in May 1994. This facility is used to distribute free tickets for special events at the White House such as the Easter Egg Roll and Fall and Spring Garden Tours. There also is an information window, concession area, restrooms, telephones, water fountains, and First Aid area, all accessible.
Administrative history
Transferred on August 10, 1933, to the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, the legal successor of three Federal Commissioners appointed by the President under an act of July 16, 1790, who directed initial construction. Their authority developed through acts of May 1, 1802; April 19, 1816; March 3, 1849; March 2, 1867; July 1, 1898; February 26, 1925; March 3, 1933; and Executive Order of June 10, 1933. Under act of September 22, 1961, "the White House. . .shall be administered pursuant to the act of August 25, 1916" and supplementary and amendatory acts. This NPS area was originally referred to simply as "The White House."
References
- The National Parks: Index 2001-2003. Washington: U.S. Department of the Interior.
External links
- The Shape and History of The Ellipse in Washington, D.C. by Clark Kimberling
