President's Park South: Cultural Landscape Inventory, The White House (President's Park), National Park Service

NPS National Capital Regional Office; Donaldson, Emily

Located in the center of Washington, DC, President’s Park South has comprised the grounds south of the White House of the U.S. President since 1791. Descending in a gradual sloping lawn south from the White House Grounds, the park features the Ellipse at its center, Sherman Park in the NE corner, and the First Division Monument in the NW corner. On either side of the Ellipse a variety of deciduous trees and conifers frame the vista toward the Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial. Pierre Charles L’Enfant first identified this land in 1791 as the site for a park associated with the White House. He envisioned a swath of green connecting the White House with the National Mall, and he dubbed this greensward “President’s Park.” This 82 acre tract was purchased by the federal government in 1792, and became an official part of what is now U.S. Reservation 1. However, the landscape to the south, the future Ellipse, remained relatively untouched. By 1851, renowned landscape designer Andrew Jackson Downing was hired to prepare a new development plan for both the National Mall and President’s Park, with hopes of transforming these areas for public use. Downing’s plan called for the creation of a circular parade ground, the first progenitor of the present day Ellipse, as well as an associated network of paths and trees along the park border. Downing’s death delayed the realization of his vision and the Civil War usage resulted in severe park damage. Earnest development of President’s Park South did not take place until the 1870s-1880s, when the site was reshaped into a public park through grading, tree plantings and circulation networks. The Ellipse was filled and sculpted to create a slope down to Constitution Ave. The landscape became further refined with the 1901 McMillan Plan, which made a series of plans based on L’Enfant’s 1791 plan. During the 20th century, the park was reinvented as the site for a number of monuments and memorials, whose placement within President’s Park South ensured their visibility. With the exception of the National Christmas Tree, the locations chosen for each of these features were restricted to areas outside of the central Ellipse, allowing this area to remain the same open lawn originally envisioned by Downing. As a landscape closely associated with the Presidents of the United States, Downing, and several other preeminent landscape architects and sculptors, President’s Park South is a unique resource with national significance. The landscape meets National Register Criteria A, B, and C. In addition, several of the landscape features within President’s Park South also meet Criteria Consideration F for their exceptional commemorative value. The historic period of significance for the park is defined as 1791 through 1947, lasting from the initial establishment of L’Enfant’s plan identifying this tract as the heart of the federal city, to the completion of the primary design laid out by both L’Enfant and the McMillan Plan; a vista captured with the clearing of the 150-ft. wide view to the Jefferson Memorial. President’s Park South has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980. Today, President’s Park South is in good condition, and retains a high level of integrity to its historic period of significance. The open vista from the White House to the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial remains intact, bordered on either side by trees marking the perimeter of the Ellipse. A collection of historic features still stand throughout the park landscape, including the Butt-Millet Memorial Fountain, the Bulfinch Gatehouses, the Ellipse Meridian Stone, the First Division Monument, the Zero Milestone, the Second Division Memorial, and the National Christmas Tree.

President's Park South: Cultural Landscape Inventory, The White House (President's Park), National Park Service

Series

Collections