Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site (PA Ave, NW- White House to the Capitol): Cultural Landscape Inventory, National Mall and Memorial Parks, National Park Service

Commisso, Michael

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, cultural landscape consists of the National Park Service’s property along Pennsylvania Avenue between 3rd and 15th Streets, NW, in Washington, DC. This 1.2‑mile road corridor and public parkland area shares the same boundary as the Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site, an administrative unit of National Mall and Memorial Parks (formerly National Capital Parks‑Central). The Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, cultural landscape encompasses Pennsylvania Avenue—lined with a unified streetscape of site furnishings, tiered lighting, paving, and street trees, and a series of parks and plazas, including Pershing Park (U.S. Reservation 617), Freedom Plaza (U.S. Reservations 32 and 33), Market Square Park (U.S. Reservations 35 and 36), Indiana Plaza (U.S. Reservation 36A), Mellon Park (U.S. Reservation 546), John Marshall Park, and Meade Plaza (U.S. Reservation 553). Within these public spaces are numerous memorials and statues that commemorate those individuals who contributed great military or political achievements to the country (refer to site plans). Significance Summary: Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, cultural landscape lies within the Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site, which was administratively added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966, with the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the L’Enfant Plan of the City of Washington, DC, National Register Nomination (1997) and Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site National Register District (2007). A draft National Historic Landmark nomination entitled, “The Plan of the City of Washington” is also being prepared that will update and amend the L’Enfant Plan of the City of Washington, DC, National Register Nomination. (Note: the Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site National Register District boundary is much larger than the NPS managed Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site boundary) Period of Significance: The proposed overall period of significance for the Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, cultural landscape is 1791 to 1996. The earlier date encompasses Pierre Charles L’Enfant’s design of Washington, which shows Pennsylvania Avenue as a broad diagonal street. The terminus for the period of significance is tied to the date Congress dissolved the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation (PADC) and new construction along the avenue was complete. This time span extends beyond the period of significance listed on the nomination for the Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site National Register district which lists the end date as 1962. This cultural landscape inventory accounts for the modern transformation of the national historic site under the direction of the PADC and finds that the PADC’s work remains evident today in the in the streetscape and in the individual parks and plazas located along the avenue between the Capitol and the White House.

Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site (PA Ave, NW- White House to the Capitol): Cultural Landscape Inventory, National Mall and Memorial Parks, National Park Service

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