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Photo, Print, Drawing Franklin Park, Bordered by K Street NW on the north, 13th Street NW on the east, I Street NW on the south, and 14th Street NW on the west, Washington, District of Columbia, DC National Mall & Memorial Parks Franklin Square Fountain Square Reservation 9

View 7 images in sequence.
[ Drawings from Survey HALS DC-62  ]

More Resources

[ Data Pages from Survey HALS DC-62  ]
[ Photo Captions from Survey HALS DC-62  ]

About this Item

Title

  • Franklin Park, Bordered by K Street NW on the north, 13th Street NW on the east, I Street NW on the south, and 14th Street NW on the west, Washington, District of Columbia, DC

Other Title

  • National Mall & Memorial Parks Franklin Square Fountain Square Reservation 9

Names

  • Historic American Landscapes Survey, creator
  • Barry, John
  • L'Enfant, Pierre Charles
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Office of Public Buildings and Grounds
  • Michler, Nathaniel
  • Babcock, Orville
  • Downing, Andrew Jackson
  • U.S. National Park Service (NPS), National Capital Parks
  • U.S. Public Works Administration (PWA)
  • Senate Park Commission
  • McMillan Commission
  • Davidson, Samuel
  • Davidson, John
  • Butterfield, Daniel
  • French, Benjamin B
  • Shepherd, Alexander "Boss"
  • Burnap, George
  • U.S. Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital
  • U.S. Office of National Parks, Buildings, and Reservations
  • U.S. National Park Service (NPS)
  • Gartside, Frank
  • Franklin Square Association
  • DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID)
  • National Mall and Memorial Parks, sponsor
  • Stevens, Christopher M., project manager
  • McNatt, Jason W., delineator
  • Fanning, Kay, historian
  • Ortiz, Jarob J., photographer
  • Pierce, Ryan, field team
  • Davidson, Paul, field team
  • Stevens, Christopher M., transmitter
  • McPartland, Mary, transmitter

Created / Published

  • Documentation compiled after 2000

Headings

  • -  urban parks
  • -  national parks & reserves
  • -  Victorian architectural elements
  • -  fountains
  • -  curvilinear paths
  • -  oak trees
  • -  canopy trees
  • -  trees
  • -  lawns
  • -  stone retaining walls
  • -  plazas
  • -  monuments & memorials
  • -  sidewalks
  • -  recreation
  • -  play (recreation)
  • -  homeless persons
  • -  springs (bodies of water)
  • -  lampposts
  • -  benches
  • -  public works
  • -  District Of Columbia--District Of Columbia--Washington

Latitude / Longitude

  • 38.901939,-77.030798

Notes

  • -  For additional documentation, see also Franklin Square (HABS DC-673)
  • -  Significance: Franklin Park is significant for its creation as part of the 1791 L'Enfant Plan and is listed as a contributing feature in the "L'Enfant Plan of the City of Washington" National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: "The historic plan of Washington, District of Columbia –- the nation's capital designed by Pierre L'Enfant in 1791 as the site of the Federal City, represents the sole American example of a comprehensive Baroque city plan with a coordinated system of radiating avenues, parks and vistas laid over an orthogonal system." The L'Enfant Plan is significant "for its relationship with the creation of the new United States of America and its capital city;" for its association to Pierre L'Enfant and subsequent "persons and groups responsible for the city's landscape architecture and regional planning;" and for its "well-preserved, comprehensive Baroque plan with Beaux-Arts modifications." These factors applying to the plan as a whole are also relevant to its constituent parts, including Franklin Park. The Office of Public Buildings and Grounds was established in 1867 after responsibility for the city's parks was moved to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The first Engineer Officer, Nathaniel Michler, and his successor, Orville Babcock, were instrumental in devising and implementing the initial grading, layout, and planting of the downtown parks and reservations, many of which – like Franklin – had been used for the billeting of troops during the Civil War. The primary design element of Washington's downtown parks is their circulation systems. The winding, irregular path layout of Franklin Park, built as early as 1868 or 1872, resembled the somewhat more regularized system developed for Lafayette Park in the 1850s. The Lafayette Park design almost certainly followed a scheme devised by pioneering horticulturist Andrew Jackson Downing, before his death in 1852. Franklin Park's original circulation, therefore, was likely based on the work of Downing, and the planting layout probably owed a debt to Downing's work as well. With only minor changes, Franklin Park maintained essentially the same design from 1872 through 1935. Trees and shrubs were added, transplanted, or removed. Gravel walks were repaved with asphalt, and new walks of asphalt and flagstone were added. Benches were regularly replaced with newer styles. The original frame lodge structure was moved from the park's west side to the east. For a time, urns for ornamental plants and cages holding eagles stood on the lawns. Over the decades, many features deteriorated, particularly the walks, and by the 1930s, Franklin Park was recognized by the public and National Capital Parks staff as being in poor condition. Franklin Park was one of several downtown and L'Enfant parks to be rehabilitated essentially, redesigned in the mid-1930s by National Capital Parks landscape architects working under grants provided by the Public Works Administration. The layout, or design framework, of these parks was determined by their circulation systems. Though many included some major feature as a focal point, such as a fountain or statue, all had curving walks arranged with varying degrees of asymmetry, providing a picturesque experience for the visitor and encouraging an irregular arrangement of vegetation. These picturesque walks were replaced with formal, symmetrical layouts, based on axes and cross-axes oriented to the orthogonal city street grid and leading to some central feature. Subsidiary diagonal walks led in from corners. The alteration of the circulation systems caused changes to the vegetation patterns, which, together with the walks, defined the parks' spatial organizations. Trees were moved or removed to accommodate new routes. While some of the irregular, picturesque groupings of trees were retained, other trees were planted to emphasize walk intersections. The heavy shrub growth of the Victorian parks was thinned or eliminated to create more open spaces and cleaner sightlines. Some of these changes may have been inspired by practical considerations, such as providing more direct routes for commuters walking through the parks on their way to work, and making parks appear safer. The designs themselves, however, may derive from the City Beautiful precepts established for the city's core by the Senate Park Commission (McMillan Commission) Report of 1902. All these changes are evident in the evolution and current condition of Franklin Park. Franklin Park is significant for its current design, a combination of its two distinct design phases, an 1867 Victorian park and the sparer, clean redesign of 1936. Victorian design elements were retained and influenced the 1936 work. The 1914 Commodore John Barry Monument, founder of the U.S. Navy, is a contributing historic structure within the park. Commodore John Barry was an Irish immigrant to America who joined the American colonial navy and was the first officer to capture an enemy war vessel in the Revolutionary War. It was erected by Congress at the request of Irish American groups. The theme of much of the early statuary in Washington was heroes of the American revolutionary period. These statues are part of an outstanding collection of nineteenth and twentieth century sculpture by the most noted sculptors in the country. All were authorized by Acts of Congress and are nationally significant. Apart from their historic and commemorative association, they constitute part of the artistic treasures of the nation.
  • -  Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N177
  • -  Survey number: HALS DC-62
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1866 Initial Construction
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1914 Subsequent Work
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1819 Initial Construction
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1832 Subsequent Work
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1851-1853 Subsequent Work
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1872-1873 Subsequent Work
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1903-1904 Subsequent Work
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1935-1936 Subsequent Work
  • -  Building/structure dates: 2004 Subsequent Work
  • -  Building/structure dates: 2020-2022 Subsequent Work
  • -  National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 97000332

Medium

  • Photo(s): 15
  • Measured Drawing(s): 7
  • Data Page(s): 61
  • Photo Caption Page(s): 2

Call Number/Physical Location

  • HALS DC-62

Source Collection

  • Historic American Landscapes Survey (Library of Congress)

Repository

Control Number

  • dc1211

Rights Advisory

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf

Rights & Access

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Obtaining Copies

If Digital Images Are Displaying

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Historic American Landscapes Survey, Creator, John Barry, Pierre Charles L'Enfant, Office Of Public Buildings And Grounds U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers, Nathaniel Michler, Orville Babcock, Andrew Jackson Downing, et al., Ortiz, Jarob J, photographer. Franklin Park, Bordered by K Street NW on the north, 13th Street NW on the east, I Street NW on the south, and 14th Street NW on the west, Washington, District of Columbia, DC. Washington Washington D.C, 2000. translateds by Stevens, Christopher M.Mitter, and Mcpartland, Marymitter Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/dc1211/.

APA citation style:

Historic American Landscapes Survey, C., Barry, J., L'Enfant, P. C., U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers, O. O. P. B. A. G., Michler, N., Babcock, O. [...] Davidson, P., Ortiz, J. J., photographer. (2000) Franklin Park, Bordered by K Street NW on the north, 13th Street NW on the east, I Street NW on the south, and 14th Street NW on the west, Washington, District of Columbia, DC. Washington Washington D.C, 2000. Stevens, C. M. M. & McPartland, M., transs Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/dc1211/.

MLA citation style:

Historic American Landscapes Survey, Creator, et al., photographer by Ortiz, Jarob J. Franklin Park, Bordered by K Street NW on the north, 13th Street NW on the east, I Street NW on the south, and 14th Street NW on the west, Washington, District of Columbia, DC. trans by Stevens, Christopher M.Mitter, and Mcpartland, Marymitter Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/dc1211/>.