Cultural Landscape Report: Suitland Parkway

Williams, Brenda; Redding, Stephanie Austin; Schwartz, Joanna; Lawrence, Rebekah; Kennedy, Adjoa; Glebes, Marian; Mitchell, S. Michael; Lovas, Daniel; Amir, Ahmed

The Cultural Landscape Report (CLR) for Suitland Parkway provides a site history, summary of existing conditions documented in December 2022 and August 2023, analysis and evaluation of landscape changes and historical significance, and high level treatment recommendations for the parkway. Recommendations for the cultural landscape establish a philosophy and framework to enhance natural and cultural resource condition and safety of multiple modes of transportation. The CLR provides NPS with the information necessary to rehabilitate and preserve the cultural landscape, and builds upon previous planning documents and the August 26, 2002, Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed by the Maryland State Historic Preservation Office, National Capital Parks East, and Joint Base Andrews. The Suitland Parkway cultural landscape is significant as the ceremonial entrance of Washington, DC, since its opening in 1944. Known as “The President’s Parkway,” the parkway links Andrews Air Force Base with Washington, DC, as one of four parkways providing a network of entryways into the nation’s capital. The parkway consists of 9.18 total miles of roadway extending from the Frederick Douglass Memorial (South Capitol Street) Bridge over the Anacostia River to MD-4/Pennsylvania Avenue at the North Gate of Joint Base Andrews. Suitland Parkway was originally constructed in 1942–1944. Like earlier parkways, Suitland Parkway preserves a wide, scenic, and mostly naturalistic corridor along a limited-access divided roadway following the “lay of the land,” or native topography. It also incorporates wider, flatter curves to accommodate higherspeed vehicles. Suitland Parkway’s negotiation between these design elements exemplifies World War II- and postwar-era parkway design. Although originally constructed as a military highway, commuter and local traffic use has been prevalent along Suitland Parkway since its opening in 1944. Following World War II, Suitland Parkway’s planners stressed the importance of the parkway as a designed landscape to be considered a permanent part of the Washington metropolitan region system of roadways, and as a result legislation was introduced in 1949 for the permanent transfer of the Suitland Parkway along with “all [its] lands and easements heretofore or hereafter acquired by the United States.” The Suitland Parkway was individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places on June 2, 1995. The nomination included the entire 9.18 miles of the parkway. The 6.38-mile study area addressed in this cultural landscape report (CLR) conveys the same significance as the parkway’s full path. The Suitland Parkway is significant under Criterion A in the area of Transportation at the national level with a period of significance of 1959 to the present for its status as a prominent ceremonial route into Washington for US presidents, foreign dignitaries, and nationally prominent figures and at the state level with a period of significance of 1944 to present for its role as an important commuter and military route serving the Suitland, Maryland, area and Joint Base Andrews. The Suitland Parkway is significant at the national level under Criterion C in the area of Landscape Architecture with a period of significance of 1942–44 as a designed landscape that embodies the defining features of the US parkway movement’s World War II era and postwar era. The CLR is organized in two parts. Part 1 of the CLR includes the site history, summary of existing conditions, and analysis of landscape integrity. This thoughtful analysis and consideration provides a framework for future management and actions aligned with the original design intent of the parkway landscape. Part 2 of the CLR provides a selected treatment approach, a vision for the landscape, and overall study area guidelines . In addition, Part 2 identifies preferred concepts for specific issues and conditions along the parkway, including vegetation below the JBA approach/departure airspace, treatment related to the closed JBA north gate, the proposed Suitland Parkway Trail extension, intersection safety improvements, and parkway identity at its east and west termini. The selected treatment approach of “rehabilitation” protects historic elements, while allowing compatible additions and modifications. The preferred treatment concept for Suitland Parkway balances protecting the historic character of the parkway as the ceremonial entrance into the nation’s capital with necessary safety improvements for multiple modes of transportation utilizing the parkway and adjacent spaces, including vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles, and aircraft. Treatment guidelines and recommendations center around the historic design intent described in Part 1, which drives selection of strategies and features compatible with the cultural landscape character.

Cultural Landscape Report: Suitland Parkway

Series