Jump to content

National Mall

From Niidae Wiki
Revision as of 18:59, 17 May 2025 by imported>Aadirulez8 (v2.05 - Auto / Fix errors for CW project (Template value ends with break))
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox NRHP

The National Mall is a landscaped park near the downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institution, art galleries, cultural institutions, and various memorials, sculptures, and statues. It is administered by the National Park Service (NPS) of the United States Department of the Interior as part of the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit of the National Park System.<ref name="INDEX">Template:Cite web</ref> The park receives approximately 24 million visitors each year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Designed by Pierre L'Enfant, the "Grand Avenue" or Mall was to be a democratic and egalitarian space—unlike palace gardens, such as those at Versailles in France, that were paid for by the people but reserved for the use of a privileged few.

The core area of the National Mall extends between the United States Capitol grounds to the east and the Washington Monument to the west and is lined to the north and south by several museums and federal office buildings.<ref name="National Register Nomination Form" /> The term National Mall may also include areas that are also officially part of neighboring West Potomac Park to the south and west and Constitution Gardens to the north, extending to the Lincoln Memorial on the west and Jefferson Memorial to the south.<ref name="foundation statement">Template:Cite book</ref>

Landmarks, museums, and other features

[edit]

Template:Center

File:NPS national-mall-3d-map.pdf
Template:Center

Within the National Mall proper

[edit]

Template:Center

File:National mall (east) satellite image.jpg
National Mall proper and adjacent areas (April 2002). The Mall had a grassy lawn flanked on each side by unpaved paths and rows of American elm trees as its central feature. (Numbers in the image correspond to numbers in the list of landmarks, museums and other features below.)

The National Mall proper contains the following landmarks, museums and other features (including opening year):<ref name="foundation statement"/><ref name="National Register Nomination Form"/> Template:Div col

2. National Museum of American History (1964)<ref>Numbers preceding names of landmarks correspond to numbers in 2005 satellite image of the National Mall (proper).</ref>
3. National Museum of Natural History (1910)
4. National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden (1999)
5. West Building of the National Gallery of Art (1941)
6. East Building of the National Gallery of Art (1978)
10. National Museum of the American Indian (2004) (shown under construction)
11. National Air and Space Museum (1976)
12. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (1974)
13. Arts and Industries Building (1881)
14. Smithsonian Institution Building ("The Castle") (1849)
15. Freer Gallery of Art (1923)
16. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (1987)
17. National Museum of African Art (1987)

Template:Div col end

File:A j downing urn 006.JPG
Andrew Jackson Downing Urn in May 2012

Not marked on the above image:

Above the Smithsonian Institution Building
Below the Smithsonian Institution Building
Above the Arts and Industries Building
  • Smithsonian Carousel (1967)<ref name="Smithsonian carousel">

Multiple sources:

To the left of the National Museum of American History
File:Washington, D.C Mai 2009 PD 005.JPG
2009 view from the United States Capitol facing west, over the Grant Memorial and Capitol Reflecting Pool in the foreground, and across the National Mall towards the Washington Monument
To the left of the Freer Gallery of Art
File:National Mall - walking path.JPG
Facing east on the National Mall, as viewed near the 1300 block of Jefferson Drive, S.W. in April 2010. Rows of American elm trees line the sides of a path traversing the length of the Mall.

With the exception of the National Gallery of Art, all of the museums on the National Mall proper are part of the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian Gardens maintains a number of gardens and landscapes near its museums.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> These include: Template:Div col

Template:Div col end

East of the National Mall proper

[edit]
File:19 03 19 Foto do dia (47419854521).jpg
West side of the U.S. Capitol building (March 2019)

Features east of the National Mall proper include: Template:Div col

Template:Div col end

West of the National Mall proper and in West Potomac Park

[edit]

Template:Center Template:Maplink

Not included in the above map:

Boundaries and dimensions

[edit]

Dimensions

[edit]

Template:See also

  • Between the Capitol steps and the Lincoln Memorial, the Mall spans 1.9 miles (3.0 km).
  • Between the Capitol steps and the Washington Monument, the Mall spans 1.2 miles (1.8 km).
  • Between the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial, the Mall covers 309.2 acres (125.13 ha).
  • Between Constitution Avenue NW and Independence Avenue SW at 7th Street, the width of the Mall is Template:Convert.
  • Between Madison Drive NW and Jefferson Drive SW at 7th Street, the width of the Mall's open space is Template:Convert.
  • Between the innermost rows of trees near 7th Street, the width of the Mall's vista is Template:Convert.

Boundaries

[edit]

In its 1981 National Register of Historic Places nomination form, the NPS defined the boundaries of the National Mall (proper) as Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues on the north, 1st Street NW on the east, Independence and Maryland Avenues on the south, and 14th Street NW on the west, with the exception of the section of land bordered by Jefferson Drive on the north, Independence Avenue on the south, and by 12th and 14th Streets respectively on the east and west, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture administers and which contains the Jamie L. Whitten Building (U.S. Department of Agriculture Administration Building).<ref name="National Register Nomination Form" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The 2012–2016 National Park Service index describes the National Mall as being a landscaped park that extends from the Capitol to the Washington Monument, defined as a principal axis in the L'Enfant Plan for the city of Washington.<ref name="INDEX"/>

However, a 2010 NPS plan for the Mall contains maps that show the Mall's general area to be larger.<ref name=Summary>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A document within the plan describes this area as "the grounds of the U.S. Capitol west to the Potomac River, and from the Thomas Jefferson Memorial north to Constitution Avenue".<ref name="foundation statement"/> A map within the plan entitled "National Mall Areas" illustrates "The Mall" as being the green space bounded on the east by 3rd Street, on the west by 14th Street, on the north by Jefferson Drive, NW, and on the south by Madison Drive, SW.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A Central Intelligence Agency map shows the Mall as occupying the space between the Lincoln Memorial and the United States Capitol.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2011, the 112th United States Congress enacted the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2012, which transferred to the Architect of the Capitol the NPS "property which is bounded on the north by Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, on the east by First Street Northwest and First Street Southwest, on the south by Maryland Avenue Southwest, and on the west by Third Street Southwest and Third Street Northwest".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This act removed Union Square (the area containing the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial and the Capitol Reflecting Pool) from NPS jurisdiction.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Purposes

[edit]

The National Park Service states that the purposes of the National Mall are to:

  • Provide a monumental, dignified, and symbolic setting for the governmental structures, museums, and national memorials as first delineated by the L'Enfant plan and further outlined in the McMillan plan.
  • Maintain and provide for the use of the National Mall with its public promenades as a completed work of civic art, a designed historic landscape providing extraordinary vistas to symbols of the nation.
  • Maintain National Mall commemorative works (memorials, monuments, statues, sites, gardens) that honor presidential legacies, distinguished public figures, ideas, events, and military and civilian sacrifices and contributions.
  • Forever retain the West Potomac Park section of the National Mall as a public park for the recreation and enjoyment of the people.
  • Maintain the National Mall in the heart of the nation's capital as a stage for national events and a preeminent national civic space for public gatherings because it is here that the constitutional rights of speech and peaceful assembly find their fullest expression.
  • Maintain the National Mall as an area free of commercial advertising while retaining the ability to recognize sponsors."<ref name="foundation statement"/>

History

[edit]

Template:See also

L'Enfant City Plan

[edit]
File:Iiif-service gmd gmd385 g3852 g3852m ct005090-full-pct 12.5-0-default.jpg
Template:Center

In his 1791 plan for the future city of Washington, D.C., Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant envisioned a garden-lined "grand avenue" approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) in length and Template:Convert wide, in an area that would lie between the Congress House (now the United States Capitol) and an equestrian statue of George Washington. The statue would be placed directly south of the President's House (now the White House) and directly west of the Congress House (see L'Enfant Plan) on the site of the Washington Monument. The grand avenue was to be flanked by gardens and spacious accommodations for foreign ministers.<ref name="Nati onal Register Nomination —Form">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=Sherald>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Multiple sources:

Mathew Carey's 1802 map is reported to be the first to name the area west of the United States Capitol as the "Mall".<ref>Multiple sources:

The Washington City Canal, completed in 1815 in accordance with the L'Enfant Plan, travelled along the former course of Tiber Creek to the Potomac River along B Street Northwest (NW) (now Constitution Avenue NW) and south along the base of a hill containing the Congress House, thus defining the northern and eastern boundaries of the Mall.<ref name=canal>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=HMdb>Template:Cite web</ref> Being shallow and often obstructed by silt, the canal served only a limited role and became an open sewer that poured sediment and waste into the Potomac River's flats and shipping channel.<ref name=canal/><ref name=dredging>Template:Cite web</ref> The portion of the canal that traveled near the Mall was covered over in 1871 for sanitary reasons.<ref name=canal/>

Some consider a lockkeeper's house constructed in 1837 near the western end of the Washington City Canal for an eastward extension of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal to be the oldest building still standing on the National Mall.<ref name=Lockkeeper>Template:Cite web</ref> The structure, which is located near the southwestern corner of 17th Street NW and Constitution Avenue NW, is west of the National Mall (proper).<ref name=HMdb/><ref name=renovation>Multiple sources:

The Smithsonian Institution Building ("The Castle"), constructed from 1847 to 1855, is the oldest building now present on the National Mall (proper).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Washington Monument, whose construction began in 1848 and reached completion in 1888, stands near the planned site of its namesake's equestrian statue.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Jefferson Pier marks the planned site of the statue itself.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Template:Clear

Downing Plan: Mid-19th century

[edit]
File:DClandscape1846.jpg
Portrait of the Mall and vicinity looking northwest from southeast of the U.S. Capitol, circa 1846–1855, showing stables in the foreground, the Washington City Canal behind them, the Capitol on the right and the Smithsonian "Castle", the Washington Monument and the Potomac River in the distant left.

During the early 1850s, architect and horticulturist Andrew Jackson Downing designed a landscape plan for the Mall.<ref name=Sherald /><ref name=Hanlon>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Multiple sources:

During that period, the Mall was subdivided into several areas between B Street Northwest (NW) (now Constitution Avenue NW) and B Street Southwest (SW) (now Independence Avenue SW):

  • The Public Grounds between 2nd and 6th Streets NW and SW
  • The Armory Grounds between 6th and 7th Streets NW and SW
  • The Smithsonian Grounds between 7th and 12th Streets NW and SW
  • The Agricultural Grounds between 12th and 14th Streets NW and SW
  • The Monument Grounds between 14th and 17th Streets NW and SW<ref>Map of the Mall in 1893 showing the Monuments Grounds, Agricultural Grounds, Smithsonian Grounds, Armory Grounds, Public Grounds, and Botanical Gardens</ref>

In 1856, the Armory (No. 27 on the 1893 map of the Mall) was built at the intersection of B Street SW and 6th Street SW on the Armory Grounds. In 1862, during the American Civil War, the building was converted to a military hospital known as Armory Square Hospital to house Union Army casualties. After the war ended, the Armory building became the home of the United States Fish Commission.<ref>Multiple sources:

The United States Congress established the United States Department of Agriculture in 1862 during the Civil War.<ref name=Agriculture>Template:Cite web</ref> Designed by Adolf Cluss and Joseph von Kammerhueber, the United States Department of Agriculture Building (No. 25 on the map), was constructed in 1867–1868 north of B Street SW within a 35-acre site on the Mall.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

File:Washington, D.C., April, 1865 LCCN2013651866.tif
View of the National Mall with its livestock and the Treasury Building in the background in April 1865

After the Civil War ended, the Department of Agriculture started growing experimental crops and demonstration gardens on the Mall. These gardens extended from the department's building near the south side of the Mall to B Street NW (the northern boundary of the Mall). The building was razed in 1930.<ref name=Agriculture/> In addition, greenhouses belonging to the U.S. Botanical Garden (No. 16 on the map) appeared near the east end of the Mall between the Washington City Canal and the Capitol (later between 1st and 3rd Streets NW and SW).<ref name=Hanlon />

Originating during the early 1800s as a collection of market stalls immediately north of the Washington City Canal and the Mall, the Center Market (No. 19 on the map), which Adolf Cluss also designed, opened in 1872 soon after the canal closed. Located on the north side of Constitution Avenue NW, the National Archives now occupies the Market's site.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

During that period, railroad tracks crossed the Mall on 6th Street, west of the Capitol.<ref name=Sherald /> Near the tracks, several structures were built over the years. The Baltimore and Potomac Railroad station (B on the map) rose in 1873 on the north side of the Mall at the southwest corner of 6th Street and B Street NW (now the site of the west building of the National Gallery of Art).<ref>Multiple sources:

In 1881, the Arts and Industries Building (No. 34 on the map), known originally as the National Museum Building, opened on the north side of B Street SW to the east of "The Castle". Designed in 1876 by Adolf Cluss and his associates, the building is the second oldest still standing on the National Mall (proper).<ref>Multiple sources:

In 1887, the Army Medical Museum and Library, which Adolf Cluss designed in 1885, opened on the Mall at northwest corner of B Street SW and 7th Street SW.<ref name=Medical>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=Rhode>Template:Cite web</ref> The Smithsonian Institution's Hirshhorn Museum now occupies the site of the building, which was demolished in 1968.<ref name=Rhode/>

Meanwhile, in order to clean up the Potomac Flats and to make the Potomac River more navigable, in 1882 Congress authorized the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the river. The Corps used the sediment removed from the shipping channel to fill in the flats. The work started in 1882 and continued until 1911, creating the Tidal Basin and 628 new acres of land. Part of the new land, which became West Potomac Park, expanded the Mall southward and westward (see 1893 map above).<ref name=dredging/><ref>Multiple sources:

File:1893 Detail Map National Mall.png
Map of the Mall in 1893 showing the Monument Grounds (with the Washington Monument), Agricultural Grounds (with the Dept. of Agriculture), Smithsonian Grounds (with the Castle and Arts and Industries museum), Armory Square, Public Grounds and Botanical Garden, as well as parts of the recently created "Tidal Reservoir" and "Proposed Park"<ref>Portion of Template:Cite web</ref>

McMillan Plan: Early 20th century

[edit]
File:McMillan Plan.jpg
The National Mall was the centerpiece of the 1902 McMillan Plan. A central open vista traversed the length of the Mall.

In 1902, the McMillan Commission's plan, which was partially inspired by the City Beautiful Movement and which purportedly extended Pierre L'Enfant's plan, called for a radical redesign of the Mall that would replace its greenhouses, gardens, trees, and commercial/industrial facilities with an open space.<ref name=Sherald /><ref name=Hanlon /><ref name=Moore>Template:Cite book Rick Olmstead, an original member of the McMillan Commission, played a crucial role in leading the team to restore and redesign the National Mall. Drawing from his deep expertise in landscape architecture, Olmstead guided the commission in creating a comprehensive plan that emphasized both historical preservation and modern urban design. He coordinated efforts with fellow members such as Daniel Burnham, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., Charles McKim, and Augustus Saint-Gaudens, ensuring a cohesive vision that integrated monumental architecture, expansive public lawns, and significant public art. Under Olmstead's leadership, the team meticulously planned the alignment of key monuments and the development of green spaces, establishing a blueprint that transformed the National Mall into the iconic and enduring public space it is today. His vision and dedication were instrumental in blending aesthetic appeal with functionality, ensuring that the Mall would serve as a central, unifying space for the nation's capital. The McMillan Plan.</ref> The plan differed from L'Enfant's by replacing the Template:Convert wide "grand avenue" with a Template:Convert wide vista containing a long and broad expanse of grass.

Four rows of American elm trees (Ulmus americana) planted fifty feet apart between two paths or streets would line each side of the vista. Buildings housing cultural and educational institutions constructed in the Beaux-Arts style would line each outer path or street, on the opposite side of the path or street from the elms.<ref name=Sherald /><ref name=Hanlon /><ref name=Moore /><ref name="Mall History">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In subsequent years, the vision of the McMillan plan was generally followed with the planting of American elms and the layout of four boulevards down the Mall, two on either side of a wide lawn.<ref name="Mall History"/><ref name=1937map>Template:Cite web (Repository: Library of Congress Geography and Map Division)</ref><ref>Satellite imagery of the National Mall in Google maps in Template:Coord</ref> In accordance with a plan that it completed in 1976, the NPS converted the two innermost boulevards (Washington Drive NW and Adams Drive SW) into gravel walking paths.<ref name="Mall History"/> The two outermost boulevards (Madison Drive NW and Jefferson Drive SW) remain paved and open to vehicular traffic.<ref name="Mall History"/>

Temporary war buildings

[edit]

Template:Further

During World Wars I and II, the federal government constructed a number of temporary buildings (tempos) on the Mall, disrupting the area's planned layout. Most of these buildings were in two clusters: one near the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and the other on the National Mall (proper) in the vicinity of 4th through 7th Streets NW and SW.<ref name=wartime>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=map2>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=map3>Template:Cite web</ref>

World War I

[edit]
File:Aerial view of eastern National Mall - 1913 to 1918.jpg
Eastward view of the National Mall from the top of the Washington Monument in 1918. The three structures and two chimneys crossing the Mall are temporary World War I buildings A, B and C and parts of their central power plant.<ref name=tempos>Multiple sources: * Template:Cite web * Template:Cite web</ref>

The United States entered World War I in April 1917.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By 1918, a row of tempos designated from north to south as Buildings A, B, and C had stretched across the Mall along the east side of the former railroad route on 6th Street. The smokestacks of the buildings' centrally-located power plant were set apart to preserve the view of the Washington Monument from the Capitol building.<ref name=map2/><ref name=tempos/><ref name=tempos2>Template:Cite web</ref> Soon afterwards, the government constructed Buildings D, E and F to the east and west of the row.<ref name=map2/><ref name=tempos2/>

Around 1921 (when the United States and Germany signed the U.S.–German Peace Treaty, thus formally ending the war between the two nations),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the government demolished Buildings A and B. The remaining tempos held offices of several agencies belonging to the Agriculture, Commerce, Treasury and War Departments for a number of years after the war ended.<ref name=map2/><ref name=tempos2/><ref>Multiple sources:

The government then slowly dismantled most of the tempos that had remained within the Mall (proper), removing the power plant and nearby buildings by 1936.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Among those removed was Building C, which the government demolished between 1933 and 1936.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

By 1937, the government had removed all of the World War I tempos that had been within the National Mall (proper) except for Building E, thus largely restoring the Mall's central vista.<ref name=1937map/> However, another World War I tempo, which the government constructed south of the Mall in 1919 between 14th Street SW and the Tidal Basin as the Liberty Loan Building, remained standing in 2019 while housing the Treasury Department's Bureau of the Fiscal Service.<ref>Multiple sources:

File:WWIINavyBuildingsFromMonument.jpg
Westward view from the top of the Washington Monument in 1943 or 1944 during World War II. In the foreground, temporary buildings on the Washington Monument grounds house the Navy's Bureau of Ships. The Main Navy and Munitions Buildings stand to the right of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Temporary buildings to the left of the Reflecting Pool house the Navy's Bureau of Supplies and Accounts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1918, contractors for the United States Navy's Bureau of Yards and Docks constructed the Main Navy and Munitions Buildings along nearly a third of a mile of the south side of Constitution Avenue (then known as B Street), from 17th Street NW to 21st Street NW.<ref name=warbuildings/><ref name="main">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="navy1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Although the Navy intended the buildings to provide temporary quarters for the United States military during World War I, the reinforced concrete structures remained in place until 1970.<ref name=warbuildings/><ref name="main"/><ref name="navy1"/> After their demolition, much of their former sites became Constitution Gardens, which was dedicated in 1976.<ref name="navy1" /><ref name=Gardens>Template:Cite web</ref>

World War II

[edit]

During World War II, the government constructed a larger set of temporary buildings on the Mall in the area of the former World War I tempos, along the south side of Constitution Avenue between 12th and 14th Streets NW, on the west side of the Washington Monument grounds, along the entire length of the south side of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and between the Reflecting Pool and the Main Navy and Munition buildings on the Pool's north side. Numbers identified new buildings built on the Monument grounds, while letters identified the remainder. The government also built dormitories, residence halls and facilities for dining and recreation south of the eastern half of the Mall and within the part of West Potomac Park that lay south of the Mall's western half.<ref name=map3/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The government progressively demolished all of the World War II tempos beginning in 1964.<ref name=warbuildings/> After the government removed the Main Navy and Munitions buildings in 1970, much of their former sites became Constitution Gardens, which was dedicated in 1976.<ref name="navy1" /><ref name=warbuildings/><ref name=Gardens/>

Later history

[edit]
File:View of the Mall, District of Columbia, from the Washington Monument (3678166249).jpg
Rows of young American elm trees on the National Mall, looking east from the top of the Washington Monument, circa 1942

The planting of American elm trees (Ulmus americana) on the National Mall following the McMillan Plan started in the 1930s between 3rd and 14th Streets at the same time that Dutch Elm Disease (DED) began to appear in the United States. Concern was expressed about the impact that DED could have on these trees.<ref name=elm>Template:Cite book</ref>

File:View of Lincoln Memorial from top of Washington Monument, WashingtonDC, USA - panoramio.jpg
This view from the top of the Washington Monument shows rows of elm trees lining the Reflecting Pool (November 2014).

DED first appeared on the Mall during the 1950s and reached a peak in the 1970s. The NPS has used a number of methods to control this fungal epidemic, including sanitation, pruning, injecting trees with fungicide and replanting with DED-resistant American elm cultivars (see Ulmus americana cultivars). The NPS cloned one such cultivar ('Jefferson') from a DED-resistant tree growing near a path on the Mall in front of the Freer Gallery of Art, near the Smithsonian Institution Building ("The Castle").<ref>Multiple sources:

The NPS has combated the disease's local insect vector, the smaller European elm bark beetle (Scolytus multistriatus), by trapping and by spraying with insecticides. Soil compaction and root damage by crowds and construction projects also adversely affect the elms.<ref name=elm/>

On October 15, 1966, the NPS listed the National Mall on the National Register of Historic Places.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1981, the NPS prepared a National Register nomination form that documented the Mall's boundaries, features and historical significance.<ref name="National Register Nomination Form">Template:Cite web</ref>

From the 1970s to 1994, a fiberglass model of a triceratops named Uncle Beazley stood on the Mall in front of the National Museum of Natural History. The life-size statue, which is now located at the National Zoological Park (the National Zoo) in Northwest Washington, D.C., was donated to the Smithsonian Institution by the Sinclair Oil Corporation. The statue, which Louis Paul Jonas created for Sinclair's DinoLand pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair, was named after a dinosaur in Oliver Butterworth's 1956 children's book, The Enormous Egg, and the 1968 televised movie adaptation in which the statue appeared.<ref>Multiple sources:

In 2003, the 108th United States Congress enacted the Commemorative Works Clarification and Revision Act. This Act prohibits the siting of new commemorative works and visitor centers in a designated reserve area within the cross-axis of the Mall.<ref>Commemorative Works Clarification and Revision Act of 2003, in Template:Cite web</ref>

File:WASNATMALL.jpg
Looking east from the top of the Washington Monument towards the Mall and the U.S. Capitol, 2023

In October 2013, a two-week federal government shutdown closed the National Mall and its museums and monuments.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, when a group of elderly veterans tried to enter the National World War II Memorial during the shutdown's first day, the memorial's barricades were removed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The NPS subsequently announced that the veterans had a legal right to be in the memorial and would not be barred in the future.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During the shutdown's second week, the NPS permitted an immigration rally and concert to take place on the Mall.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

File:The National Mall viewed from the Lincoln Memorial.jpg
The National Mall viewed from the Lincoln Memorial, July 2023

On December 8, 2016, the NPS listed on the National Register of Historic Places an increase in the National Mall Historic District's boundary to encompass an area bounded by 3rd Street, NW/SW, Independence Avenue, SW, Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW, the CSX Railroad, the Potomac River, Constitution Avenue, NW, 17th Street, NW, the White House Grounds, and 15th Street, NW. The listing's registration form, which contained 232 pages, described and illustrated the history and features of the historic district's proposed expanded area.<ref name=increase/>

Demolished or moved structures

[edit]

Usage

[edit]

In combination with the other attractions in the Washington Metropolitan Area, the National Mall makes the nation's capital city one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. It has several other uses in addition to serving as a tourist focal point.

Protests and rallies

[edit]

Template:Further

File:View of Crowd at 1963 March on Washington.jpg
1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on the National Mall facing east from the Lincoln Memorial

The National Mall's status as a vast, open expanse at the heart of the capital makes it an attractive site for protests and rallies of all types. One notable example was the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a political rally during the Civil Rights Movement, at which Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his speech "I Have a Dream".

The largest officially recorded rally was the Vietnam War Moratorium Rally on October 15, 1969. However, in 1995, the NPS issued a crowd estimate for the Million Man March with which an organizer of the event, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, disagreed.<ref name=Leef>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Nukols>Template:Cite web</ref> The next year, a committee of the 104th United States Congress provided no funds for NPS crowd-counting activities in Washington, D.C., when it prepared legislation making 1997 appropriations for the U.S. Department of the Interior.<ref name=Leef/><ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link Note: The Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 1997 (H.R. 3662), was incorporated into the Template:Cite webat 110 STAT. 3009-181.</ref>

As a result, the NPS has not provided any official crowd size estimates for Mall events since 1995.<ref name=Leef/><ref name=Nukols/><ref>Multiple sources:

On April 25, 2004, the March for Women's Lives filled the Mall.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On January 27, 2007, tens of thousands of protesters opposed to the Iraq War converged on the Mall (see: January 27, 2007 anti-war protest), drawing comparisons by participants to the Vietnam War protest.<ref>Multiple sources:

On June 12, 2018, the National Hockey League's Washington Capitals staged a rally on the Mall after parading through the city to celebrate the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship victory. Tens of thousands of fans reportedly joined the beer-soaked event.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Presidential inaugurations

[edit]

Template:Further

File:Obama inaugural address.jpg
The first inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20, 2009, facing west from the Capitol

The American presidential inauguration is a momentous occasion that symbolizes the peaceful transfer of power and the beginning of a new chapter in the nation's leadership. Held at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., the inauguration draws people from across the country and the world to witness this historic event. The Capitol, with its majestic dome and iconic architecture, serves as the backdrop for the ceremony. The Mall, stretching from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial, becomes the gathering place for thousands of spectators who come to witness the swearing-in of the President and Vice President of the United States.

Days leading up to the inauguration are filled with anticipation and preparation. Security measures are heightened to ensure the safety of attendees and dignitaries. The National Mall, usually bustling with tourists and locals, transforms into a sea of spectators, eagerly awaiting the moment when the President-elect takes the oath of office. During presidential inaugurations, people without official tickets gather at the National Mall. Normally, the Mall between 7th and 14th Streets NW is used as a staging ground for the parade.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On December 4, 2008, the Presidential Inaugural Committee (see: United States presidential inauguration organizers) announced, "for the first time, the entire length of the National Mall will be opened to the public so that more people than ever before will be able to witness the swearing-in of the president from a vantage point in sight of the Capitol."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The committee made this arrangement because of the massive attendance – projected to be as many as 2 million people – that it expected for the first inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20, 2009.

Despite the arrangement, a throng of people seeking access to the event climbed and then removed temporary protective fences around the Smithsonian's Mary Livingston Ripley Garden, six blocks from the site at which Obama took his inaugural oath. Hordes then trampled the garden's vegetation and elevated plant beds when entering and leaving the event.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Others could not find a way to enter the Mall in time to view the ceremony. More than a thousand people with purple tickets missed the event while being stranded in the I-395 Third Street Tunnel beneath the Mall after police directed them there (see Purple Tunnel of Doom).<ref>Multiple sources:

Other events and recreational activities

[edit]

The National Mall has long served as a spot for jogging, picnics, and light recreation for the Washington population. The Smithsonian Carousel, located on the Mall in front of the Arts and Industry Building, is a popular attraction. The Allan Herschell Company built the carousel, which arrived at Gwynn Oak Park near Baltimore, Maryland, in 1947. The carousel was moved to the Mall in 1981 and now operates seasonally.<ref name="Smithsonian carousel"/>

Annual events

[edit]

A number of large free events recur annually on the Mall.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A kite festival, formerly named the "Smithsonian Kite Festival" and now named the "Blossom Kite Festival", usually takes place each year on the Washington Monument grounds during the last weekend of March as part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. The event's organizers cancelled the 2020 kite festival, which they had earlier scheduled to take place on the Washington Monument grounds on Saturday, March 28, because of concerns related the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

An Earth Day celebration often takes place on the Mall around April 22.<ref>Multiple sources:

File:Fourth of July Washington D.C. Washington Monument National Mall (52194788907).jpg
Independence Day fireworks display on the National Mall, July 4, 2022

The 2012 Earth Day rally, which featured music, entertainment, celebrity speakers and environmental activities, took place on the Mall during a rainy day on Sunday, April 22. Cheap Trick, Dave Mason, Kicking Daisies, Sting, John Legend, Joss Stone, the Roots, Mavis Staples, Jimmy Cliff, Bob Weir and the Explorers Club performed and Congressmen John Dingell and Edward Markey spoke.<ref>Multiple sources:

In 2013, an "Earth Month" at Washington Union Station replaced the Mall's Earth Day event.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On April 19, 2015, a "Global Citizen" Earth Day concert featured performances on the Washington Monument grounds by Usher, My Morning Jacket, Mary J. Blige, Train and No Doubt.<ref>Multiple sources:

The National Symphony Orchestra presents each year its National Memorial Day Concert on the west lawn of the United States Capitol during the evening of the Sunday before Memorial Day (the last Monday of May).<ref>Multiple sources:

Components of the United States Navy Band, the United States Air Force Band, the United States Marine Band and the United States Army Band perform on the west steps of the United States Capitol on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday evenings, respectively, during June, July and August.<ref>Multiple sources:

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival takes place on the Mall each year for two weeks around Independence Day (July 4).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On that holiday, the A Capitol Fourth concert takes place in the late afternoon and early evening on the west lawn of the Capitol.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This and other Independence Day celebrations on and near the Mall end after sunset with a fireworks display between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.<ref>Multiple sources:

The National Symphony Orchestra presents each year its Labor Day Capitol Concert on the west lawn of the United States Capitol during the evening of the Sunday before Labor Day (the first Monday of September).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Other events

[edit]
File:MarianAndersonLincolnMemorial.png
The April 9, 1939, concert by Marian Anderson, facing east from the Lincoln Memorial

On April 9, 1939, singer Marian Anderson gave an Easter Sunday concert at the Lincoln Memorial after the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) denied a request by Howard University for her to give an Easter performance at the DAR's nearby racially segregated Constitution Hall (see: Marian Anderson's 1939 Lincoln Memorial concert). The event, which 75,000 people attended, occurred after President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his assent for the performance.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The 1976 United States Bicentennial celebration provided the motivation for planning to accommodate large numbers of expected visitors to the National Mall. A number of major memorials were added to the Mall throughout that period.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On May 21, 1976, Constitution Gardens was dedicated.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On July 1, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum opened.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On July 4, the Bicentennial fireworks display on the Mall attracted one million viewers, making it second only to the 1965 presidential inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson as the largest event in the Mall's history up to that time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On Sunday, October 9, 1979, Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass on the National Mall during a visit to Washington.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The celebration took place after an appellate court denied a motion for an injunction that atheists Madalyn Murray O'Hair and Jon Garth Murray had filed to prevent the event from occurring.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

From 1980 through 1982, the Beach Boys and the Grass Roots performed Independence Day concerts on the Mall, attracting large crowds.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=McCombs>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, in April 1983, Secretary of the Interior James G. Watt, banned Independence Day concerts on the Mall by such groups.

Watt said that "rock bands" that had performed on the Mall on Independence Day in 1981 and 1982 had encouraged drug use and alcoholism and had attracted "the wrong element", who would mug individuals and families attending any similar events in the future.<ref name=McCombs/> Watt then announced that Las Vegas crooner Wayne Newton, a friend and supporter of President Ronald Reagan and a contributor to Republican Party political campaigns, would perform at the Mall's 1983 Independence Day celebration.<ref name=McCombs/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

During the ensuing uproar, Rob Grill, lead singer of the Grass Roots, stated that he felt "highly insulted" by Watt's remarks, which he called "nothing but un-American".<ref name=McCombs/> The Beach Boys stated that the Soviet Union, which had invited them to perform in Leningrad in 1978, "obviously .... did not feel that the group attracted the wrong element".<ref name=McCombs/> Vice President George H. W. Bush said of the Beach Boys, "They're my friends and I like their music".<ref name=McCombs/>

On July 3, 1983, thousands attended a heavily policed "Rock Against Reagan" concert that the hardcore punk rock band, Dead Kennedys, performed on the Mall in response to Watt's action.<ref>Multiple sources:

File:Britney Spears Navy.jpg
Britney Spears performs during the "NFL Kickoff Live from the National Mall Presented by Pepsi Vanilla" concert, September 4, 2003

On September 4, 2003, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, Aretha Franklin, Aerosmith and others performed in a nationally televised "NFL Kickoff Live from the National Mall Presented by Pepsi Vanilla" (see: Pre-game concerts for National Football League kickoff game).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Preceded by a three-day National Football League "interactive Super Bowl theme park", the event had primarily commercial purposes, unlike earlier major activities on the Mall. Three weeks later, the United States Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation that, when enacted into law, limited displays of commercial sponsorship on the Mall.<ref>Multiple sources:

On July 7, 2007, one leg of Live Earth was held outdoors at the National Museum of the American Indian on the Mall. Former Vice President Al Gore presented, and artists such as Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood performed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Occurring once every two to three years on the Mall in the early fall from 2002 to 2009,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon displayed solar-powered houses that competitive collegiate teams designed, constructed and operated.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=decathlon1>Template:Cite web</ref> Igniting a controversy, the Department of Energy (DOE) decided to move the 2011 Decathlon off the Mall, claiming that this would support an effort to protect, improve and restore the park.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Federal officials stated that heavy equipment that had placed two-story houses on the Mall during earlier Decathlons had cracked walkways and killed grass to a greater extent than had most other Mall events.<ref name=Decathlon1>Template:Cite web</ref>

On February 4, 2011, a Washington Post editorial criticized attempts to have President Obama restore the Decathlon to the Mall.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Nevertheless, by February 12, 2011, at least thirteen U.S. senators had signed a letter asking the DOE to reconsider its decision.<ref name=Decathlon1 /> On February 23, 2011, the DOE and the Department of the Interior announced that the 2011 Solar Decathlon would take place along Ohio Drive southeast of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in West Potomac Park.<ref>Multiple sources:

From 2003 to 2013, the National Book Festival took place on the Mall each year in late September or early October.<ref>Multiple sources:

A four-day exhibition took place each year on the Mall during Public Service Recognition Week (the first full week of May) until 2010. Government agencies participating in the event sponsored exhibits that displayed the works of public employees and that enabled visitors to learn about government programs and initiatives, discuss employee benefits, and interact with agency representatives.<ref>Multiple sources:

On June 12, 2010, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, a couple under investigation for allegedly crashing a White House state dinner for the prime minister of India in November 2009 (see: 2009 U.S. state dinner security breaches), hosted an America's Polo Cup match between the United States and India on the Mall, charging $95 per person for admission.<ref name="Washington Post1">Template:Cite news</ref> A spokesman for the Embassy of India stated that neither the Embassy nor the government of India had any association with the event.<ref name="Washington Post1"/> Reports of the event stated that the players who represented India were actually of Pakistani origin and were from Florida.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Veterans Day concert on the National Mall photo D Ramey Logan.jpg
The Concert for Valor on the National Mall on November 11, 2014, looking west from the U.S. Capitol grounds

The inaugural USA Science and Engineering Festival Expo took place on the National Mall and surrounding areas on October 23 and 24, 2010. More than 1,500 free interactive exhibits reportedly drew about 500,000 people to the event,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> which had over 75 performances.<ref name=expo>Template:Cite web</ref> The second Expo took place on April 28–29, 2012, in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.<ref>Multiple sources:

On Veterans Day, November 11, 2014, Bruce Springsteen, Eminem, Rihanna, Metallica, Carrie Underwood, Dave Grohl, the Zac Brown Band and other pop entertainers performed on the Mall during a free evening Concert for Valor honoring veterans and their families. Attendance was in the hundreds of thousands, making it one of the biggest events on the Mall for the year.<ref>Multiple sources:

The annual Screen on the Green movie festival took place on the Mall on Monday nights during July and August for 17 years until 2015. Free classic movies were projected on large portable screens and typically drew crowds of thousands of people. Organizers cancelled the event in 2016 when the event's sponsors (HBO and Comcast) terminated their support, stating that they needed their resources for other projects.<ref>Multiple sources:

During October 2020, artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg installed 267,080 white flags within a Template:Convert site at the D.C. Armory Parade Grounds near Washington's Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium to temporarily memorialize the lives lost in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>Multiple sources:

From September 29, 2023, until October 1, 2023, the National Mall hosted the third global World Culture Festival, featuring performances from around the world and speeches from global leaders.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The National Mall is scheduled to host the 2027 NFL Draft.

Improvements and future plans

[edit]

National Mall Plan

[edit]

From 2006 through 2010, the NPS conducted a public process that created a plan for the future of the National Mall.<ref name=Summary/> On July 13, 2010, the NPS issued in the Federal Register a notice of availability of a final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the National Mall Plan.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The two-volume final EIS responded to comments and incorporated changes to a draft EIS for the Plan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:National Sylvan Theater.JPG
The Sylvan Theater in 2011

On November 9, 2010, the NPS and the Department of the Interior issued a Record of Decision (ROD) that completed the planning process.<ref name=Summary/><ref name=AP>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Post>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=Examiner>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The ROD contains a summary of the selected alternative, which is the basis for the Plan, together with mitigation measures developed to minimize environmental harm; other alternatives considered; the basis for the decision in terms of planning objectives and the criteria used to develop the preferred alternative; a finding of no impairment of park resources and values; the environmentally preferable alternative; and the public and agency involvement.<ref name=ROD>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The Plan proposed several changes to the Mall. The NPS would construct a vast expanse of paved surface in Union Square at the east end of the Mall to accommodate demonstrations and other events by reducing the size of the Capitol Reflecting Pool or by replacing the pool with a fountain or other minor water feature. Additional proposed changes included the replacement of the Sylvan Theater on the Washington Monument grounds with a facility containing offices, restaurants, and restrooms, as well as the replacement of an open space near the east end of Constitution Gardens with a multipurpose visitor facility containing food service, retail, and restrooms.<ref name=Summary/><ref name=AP/><ref name=Post/><ref name=Examiner/>

On December 2, 2010, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) unanimously approved the final National Mall Plan at a public hearing.<ref name=NCPC>Multiple sources:

  • Template:Cite web
  • Template:Cite web</ref> The NCPC's approval allowed the NPS to move forward with implementation of the Plan's recommendations.<ref name=Summary/><ref name=Examiner /><ref name=ROD /><ref name=NCPC />

On March 1, 2012, the NCPC discussed a proposal that, when implemented, reduced the Mall's green space by widening and paving most of the north–south walkways that cross the Mall between Seventh and Fourteenth Streets. The project also replaced with gravel large areas of grass that were located near the Smithsonian Metro Station and the National Gallery of Art's Sculpture Garden.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

File:Constitution Gardens at National Mall & Memorial Parks (673ac0ac-cb92-4585-a0b7-d71e1d3cbdec).jpg
Constitution Gardens in 2016

On September 8, 2011, the Trust for the National Mall<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the NPS announced an open competition for a redesign of the spaces on the National Mall that Union Square, the Sylvan Theater grounds and the Constitution Gardens lake now occupy.<ref name="design competition">Template:Cite web</ref> Former First Lady of the United States Laura Bush agreed to be the honorary co-chair of a drive to raise funds for the three projects.<ref name="design competition"/>

On April 9, 2012, the Trust for the National Mall announced the ideas for the redesign of Union Square, the Sylvan Theater grounds and Constitution Gardens lake area that finalists in the competition had submitted. The Trust asked the public to submit online comments that the competition jury would consider when evaluating each design.<ref>Multiple sources:

The competition winners were as follows:

  • Union Square: Gustafson Guthrie Nichol + Davis Brody Bond
  • Sylvan Theater on the Washington Monument Grounds: OLIN + Weiss/Manfredi
  • Constitution Gardens: Rogers Marvel Architects + Peter Walker and Partners

On October 1, 2015, the NCPC approved the preliminary and final site and building plans that the NPS had submitted for the first phase rehabilitation of Constitution Gardens. Plans included the relocation and rehabilitation of the Lockkeeper's House, C & O Canal Extension, a new entry plaza at the corner of Constitution Avenue and 17th Street, NW, landscaping, a meadow and pollinator habitat and a new perimeter garden wall. A temporary path would connect to an existing plaza located at the eastern end of Constitution Garden's lake.<ref>Multiple sources:

The NPS began to implement the first phase rehabilitation of Constitution Gardens in 2017. A Park Service contractor moved the Lockkeeper's House, C & O Canal Extension, southward and westward away from Constitution Avenue, NW and 17th Street, NW while retaining the structure's east–west orientation.<ref name=renovation/><ref>Multiple sources:

  • Template:Cite web
  • Template:Cite web</ref> The NPS restored the building's exterior to the conditions that had existed before the building was modified during 1915 and earlier years. The NPS also replaced the structure's brick chimneys, thus restoring the building to its original 1800s appearance. The building reopened temporarily in late August 2018 and permanently on September 13 of that year.<ref name=Lockkeeper/><ref name=renovation/><ref>Multiple sources:
  • Template:Cite web
  • Template:Cite news
  • Template:Cite web</ref> The structure now serves in its new location as an NPS education center.<ref name=Lockkeeper/><ref name=renovation/>

Reconstruction and restoration

[edit]

From 2010 to 2012, NPS contractors rebuilt the aging Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which had first been constructed in the early 1920s and whose water had come from the pipes that supply Washington, D.C., with its drinking water. As a result of the project, the pool now receives filtered water from the Tidal Basin through a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipeline.<ref>Multiple sources:

The NPS then began a four-year restoration of the portion of the central axis of the Mall that lies between 3rd Street and 14th Street.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By 2016, the restoration project had completely replaced the deteriorated and weedy turf that had previously covered much of that part of the Mall with a new cover containing soil, fescue (Festuca) and Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis).<ref>Multiple sources:

Transportation

[edit]

Template:See also

Public transportation

[edit]
File:WMATA Smithsonian.jpg
The Smithsonian station of the Washington Metro in 2021

The National Mall is accessible via the Washington Metro, with the Smithsonian station located on the south side of the Mall, near the Smithsonian Institution Building between the Washington Monument and the United States Capitol.<ref>Multiple sources:

Bicycles

[edit]

The NPS provides parking facilities for bicycles near each of the major memorials as well as along the National Mall.<ref name=bicycle>Template:Cite web</ref> From March to October, an NPS concessionaire rents out bicycles at the Thompson Boat Center, located near the intersection of Virginia Avenue NW and Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, Template:Convert north of the Lincoln Memorial along the Potomac River-Rock Creek Trail.<ref name=bicycle /><ref>Multiple sources:

The National Mall is the official midpoint of the East Coast Greenway, a 2,900 mile–long system of shared-use bicycle trails linking Calais, Maine, with Key West, Florida.<ref>Multiple sources:

Electric scooters and Segways

[edit]

The use of an electric scooter or a Segway falls under the NPS definition of recreational use of a self-propelled vehicle. People without identified disabilities can only use such vehicles on park roadways. NPS rules, therefore, prohibit people without disabilities from using electric scooters and Segways on sidewalks and paths within the National Mall and its memorials.<ref>Multiple sources:

Several companies rent out electric scooters within the District of Columbia. However, the National Mall is outside of those companies' service areas. Some such companies, therefore, charge fines for people who end their rides on the Mall. Others do not allow people to end their trips until they have left the area.<ref name=TripHacks/>

Pedicabs

[edit]

The NPS licenses pedicab drivers to provide transportation and tours of the National Mall through its Commercial Use Authorization program.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Motor vehicle parking

[edit]
File:Food trucks next to national mall.jpg
Due to limited dining options on the Mall, food trucks are often parked next to tourist-dense locations.

General visitor parking is available along Ohio Drive SW, between the Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson Memorials. Bus parking is available primarily along Ohio Drive, SW, near the Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson Memorials, and along Ohio Drive SW, in East Potomac Park. There is limited handicapped parking at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt and World War II Memorials and near the Washington Monument and the Thomas Jefferson, Lincoln, Korean War Veterans, and Vietnam Veterans Memorials; otherwise, parking is extremely scarce in and near the Mall.<ref name=parking>Template:Cite web</ref>

In April 2017, the NPS awarded a contract for the installation of parking meters on streets and in parking areas on the Mall. On June 12, 2017, the NPS and the District of Columbia Department of Public Works began to enforce metered parking on approximately 1,100 parking spaces in which motorists could previously park without charge.<ref name=parking/><ref>Multiple sources:

Weather and climate

[edit]
File:National Mall (50897571958).jpg
The Mall following a snow storm

On July 16, 2016, speakers and musicians participated in a gathering of thousands of evangelicals during a Together 2016 rally on the Mall.<ref name=Post1>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Although the event was originally scheduled to conclude at 9 p.m., it ended at 4 p.m. due to excessive heat. Officers reportedly responded to 350 medical calls for heat-related injuries. The large number of people who lost consciousness because of heat syncope overwhelmed emergency medical technicians.<ref name=Post1/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On July 1, 2021, an EF1 tornado formed in Arlington County, Virginia at 8:59 p.m., crossed the Potomac River near the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge, and traveled eastward along the National Mall before dissipating near 16th Street NW and Constitution Avenue south of the White House and The Ellipse, Template:Convert from where it had started. Its maximum winds were Template:Convert, and it was as wide as Template:Convert. The National Weather Service reported that wind damage to trees on the Mall "was prominent from 23rd St NW east for Template:Convert to near 16th Street NW south of The Ellipse". The weather service stated that the tornado lifted up and twisted temporary fencing installed on the Mall for the upcoming July 4 Independence Day celebration. The fencing landed in a "mangled and haphazard manner" before the twister dissipated at 9:05 p.m.<ref>Multiple sources:

Template:Climate chart
[edit]

The National Mall is a common backdrop and setting for films, television shows, and other forms of media. The Mall is the setting for a famous scene in Forrest Gump, in which Forrest gives a speech during the 1967 March on the Pentagon at the Lincoln Memorial. The film National Treasure is set on and around the National Mall. The Mall is also a common setting in several superhero movies. Spider-Man: Homecoming, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Wonder Woman 1984 all have prominent scenes on the Mall. The comedic film Wedding Crashers is set in Washington, D.C., and has scenes on the Mall. Additionally, the mall is a common feature of the Netflix series House of Cards. The Mall is also a setting of season three, episode three of the show Family Guy, as well as season 17, episode 11 of the show, nicknamed "Trump Guy".

News organisations that present live coverage or recorded programs from Washington often use the Mall as a backdrop.

[edit]

Other attractions nearby

[edit]

Template:See also

File:LOC Main Reading Room Highsmith.jpg
Reading Room at the Library of Congress
File:Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.).JPG
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Other attractions within walking distance of the National Mall (proper) include:

East of the Capitol

[edit]

Northeast of the National Mall (proper)

[edit]

North of the National Mall (proper)

[edit]

Northwest of the National Mall (proper)

[edit]
File:Jefferson Memorial Washington April 2017 002.jpg
Tidal Basin and Jefferson Memorial in April 2017.
File:Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial captured at Night (ef429585-20ed-4050-b311-3c68f9aea9df).jpg
Eisenhower Memorial at night, 2021

West of the National Mall (proper)

[edit]

Southwest of the National Mall (proper)

[edit]

South of the National Mall (proper)

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]

Template:Reflist

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]

Template:Commons category Template:Wikivoyage

Template:Washington DC landmarks Template:List of official United States national symbols Template:Navboxes Template:Authority control

Retrieved from "https://wiki.niidae.com/index.php?title=National_Mall&oldid=126729"