Tidal Basin Cultural Landscape Report
Fellenbaum R, Harwood A, Lloyd R, Raymond M, Truluck A. 2020. Tidal Basin Cultural Landscape Report. Cultural Landscape Report. NAMA-802-166028. U.S. Department of the Interior. Washington, DC
The Tidal Basin is an iconic American landscape and an important component of the Washington, DC monumental core. First engineered in the 1880s, the basin is a major structure within the national capital’s park system and urban plan. The creation of the basin landscape helped fulfill the design intent of the L’Enfant and McMillan Plans by combining commemorative, civic, and recreational uses in one complex park. Managed by multiple government agencies over its history, the landscape’s spaces and activities help revitalize shared civic values for millions of people, including local residents and visitors. The landscape’s centerpiece is the gently curving, multi-lobed, gated, water management basin. In both form and function, the basin provided a structure for the designed park and memorial elements that would follow. Today, the Tidal Basin suffers from challenges related to flooding and other environmental issues, high visitation, and increasingly complex transportation systems in and around the cultural landscape. Previous National Park Service studies documented general treatment goals for the landscape, namely: improve the sense of arrival at the basin and the recreational experiences throughout the landscape; create safer circulation systems for visitors; and respond to regular flooding by rehabilitating the sea wall and related walkway. This cultural landscape report is intended to provide a broad set of design guidelines rather than specific treatment alternatives. The guidelines will inform treatment discussions for future planning documents and will also be an essential part of the park’s efforts to manage and maintain the historic landscape within a rapidly changing environment.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Fellenbaum, Reid; Harwood, Alan; Lloyd, Rachel; Raymond, Mikayla; Truluck, Adriane
- Date of Issue
- 2020-06
- Publisher
- U.S. Department of the Interior
- Units
- JEFM , MLKM , NAMA , NCR
- Keywords
- capital city, cultural landscape report, Jefferson memorial, L'enfant, McMillan, national mall, Potomac flats, tidal basin
- Subjects
- CRIS-CL: 600011: Tidal Basin , CRIS-CL: 600007: West Potomac Park