U Street Corridor in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Meridian Hill Park
City Within a City
| | Greater U Street Heritage Trail | |
Photographed by Richard E. Miller, August 4, 2008
1. Meridian Hill Park Marker
Just ahead of you at the corner of 15th Street and Florida Avenue is the entrance to Meridian Hill Park, a dramatic urban oasis established in 1912 and completed in 1936. Its stunning, 12-acre landscape features the longest cascading waterfall of its kind in North America, a grand promenade and some of the citys most interesting sculpture. Nationally known artists performed here from the 1930s into the 1970s, making it Americas first park for the performing arts. Pearl Bailey and Pearl Mesta drew 20,000 people for “an evening with the Pearls” in 1968.
The park was the inspiration of Mary Foote Henderson, the wife of Senator John B. Henderson who lived in a romanesque, castle-like mansion that once stood at the northwest corner of 16th and Florida Avenue. Howard W. Peasly, the parks designer was inspired by the eighteenth-century gardens of Italy and France. The walls and walkways of the park represent the first use of exposed aggregate concrete anywhere in the world, here raised to the level of fine art by John Joseph Early. The multicolored stones are all from the Potomac River and are designed to shimmer in the light like an impressionist painting.
Located between a predominantly White community on the west and a predominantly Black community on the east, the park was a public place shared
this page online
Erected by Cultural Tourism DC. (Marker Number 13.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Arts, Letters, Music • Entertainment • Parks & Recreational Areas. In addition, it is included in the Greater U Street Heritage Trail, and the National Historic Landmarks series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1912.
Location. 38° 55.123′ N, 77° 2.088′ W. Marker is in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It is in U Street Corridor. It is on New Hampshire Avenue Northwest south of Florida Avenue Northwest, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Washington DC 20009, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American Northeast, in the Upper South, in the Mid-Atlantic, in the Tidewater, and in the Chesapeake Bay Region. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Saint Augustine Catholic Church and School (within shouting distance of this marker); St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church (within shouting distance of this marker); The Northumberland Apartments (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Buchanan (about 400 feet
More about this marker. Marker is in the northwest corner of the "Shaw" neighborhood, a short block south of Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park, and just southwest of the New Hampshire Avenue, 15th Street, W Street-Florida Avenue intersection.
[Picture captions, upper set:]
A capacity crowd fills the promenade for a Summer in the Parks concert in 1968. Reverend Walter Fauntroy, below, addresses a rally in the park that same year.
[Picture captions, lower set:]
The parks grand waterfall, left, was designed in the 1930s. An equestrian statue of Joan of Arc, seen below in 1936, shortly after the parks completion, overlooks the cascade.
[Picture caption, bottom:]
"Plan of Meridian Hill Park, Washington, D.C." - Designed in the Office of Public Buildings and Grounds
Regarding Meridian Hill Park.
Photographed by J. Makali Bruton, September 14, 2016
3. Meridian Hill Park Marker
This view of the marker is looking towards the east across New Hampshire Avenue NW and 15th Street NW, with Saint Augustine Catholic Church in the distance.
Also see . . .
1. Meridian Hill Park. (Submitted on March 9, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.)
2. National Park Service: Meridian Hill Park. (Submitted on March 9, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.)
Additional keywords. City planning
Photographed by Richard E. Miller, August 4, 2008
4. Dante
statue of Dante Alighieri, Meridian Hill Park.
Photographed by Richard E. Miller, August 4, 2008
5. The Meridian Hill Park Waterfall
Thirteen tier cascade fountain, "the longest cascading waterfall of its kind in North America."
Credits. This page was last revised on July 6, 2024. It was originally submitted on March 8, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. This page has been viewed 4,262 times since then and 46 times this year. Last updated on March 7, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. Photos: 1. submitted on March 8, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 2. submitted on July 6, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 3. submitted on September 14, 2016, by J. Makali Bruton of Washington, District of Columbia. 4, 5. submitted on March 8, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
