Capitol Square

Following the extension of the Capitol in the 1850s-1860s, the grounds were enlarged in 1872, and in 1874 Congress commissioned Frederick Law Olmsted to design landscape improvements that guided the project over the next two decades. Seeking a dignified park-like setting subordinate to the Capitol's architecture, Olmsted planned groupings of trees and expansive vistas to set Capitol Square apart as an oasis from the surrounding developing city. The grounds later evolved into an arboretum with hundreds of mature botanical specimens, many rarely seen elsewhere. Olmsted did not originally include perimeter boundary walls, but he later incorporated multicolored stone walls and piers to define the grounds' edges and entrances and separate its tranquil setting from the bustling city. The western boundary wall was begun in 1877 and completed in 1882, and its principal ornamental feature, a bronze drinking fountain and basin in an ornately carved sandstone niche on the main axis of the Capitol and National Mall, was completed in 1878. Piers of pink granite topped with bronze lanterns marked carriage entrances, sandstone piers flanked sidewalks extending Maryland and Pennsylvania Avenues to the west terrace, and the lanterns, first fueled by gas ignited by electrical sparks from copper wires connected to a remote battery, were converted to electricity in the early 1900's. The Summerhouse, designed by Olmsted's principal assistant Thomas Wisedell and constructed in 1879-1880, gave visitors a shaded place to rest, view the Capitol, and drink water; built of carved and radial brick, it included a grotto with running water and central fountains that helped cool the area in summer. The Olmsted Terrace, constructed in 1884-1892 on the north, west, and south sides of the Capitol, created a strong marble platform that corrected the illusion that the building was about to slide down Capitol Hill and also added space for storage, shops, and committee rooms.

Washington, District of Columbia · United States