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. Olmsted sought a dignified park-like setting for the Capitol, using 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. To help separate the tranquil setting from the bustling city, multicolored stone walls and piers were incorporated to define the edges and entrances, including pink granite piers with bronze lanterns at carriage entrances, carved sandstone piers at sidewalks extending Maryland and Pennsylvania Avenues to the west terrace, and boundary walls of gneiss, sandstone, and pink granite; the western boundary was begun in 1877 and completed in 1882. On the main axis of the Capitol and National Mall, a bronze drinking fountain and basin house in an ornately carved sandstone niche became the west boundary wall's principal ornamental feature; this temple-like structure was completed in 1878, its original sandstone columns were replaced with granite columns in 1918, and its bronze lanterns, first fueled by gas ignited by electrical sparks from copper wires connected to a remote battery, were later converted to electricity in the early 1900s. Constructed in 1879-1880, the Summerhouse, designed by Olmsted's principal architectural assistant Thomas Wisedell, offered visitors shade, views of the Capitol, and drinking water; built of carved and radial brick, it includes a grotto with running water and central fountains that helped cool the area in summer. Constructed in 1884-1892 on the north, west, and south sides of the Capitol, the marble Olmsted Terrace created a strong visual platform that corrected the illusion that the massive building was about to slide down Capitol Hill while also adding space for storage, shops, and committee rooms.

Washington, District of Columbia · United States