President's Park South

About this property

President's Park, located in downtown Washington, D.C., encompasses the White House and includes the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, the Treasury Building, and grounds; the White House Visitor Center; Lafayette Square; and the Ellipse. President's Park was the original name of Lafayette Square. President's Park is administered by the National Park Service. The park is officially referred to as President's Park or The White House and President's Park. In 1790, under the Residence Act, Philadelphia was designated as the nation's temporary capital while the permanent capital was constructed in Washington, D.C. Contests were held to solicit designs for both the United States Capitol and what was then called the President's House. James Hoban's design was selected, and he supervised the construction. In 1800, the new national capital in Washington, D.C., was finalized and opened. The White House was later expanded with the addition of the West Wing and East Wing, which now houses the office of the president and presidential staff. The White House grounds include the South Lawn, Rose Garden, Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, and North Lawn. To the west of the White House, across from the West Wing is the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, formerly the Department of State, War, and Navy, and to the east is the Treasury Building. Lafayette Square is a 6.97 acre (28,191 m2) public park located directly north of the White House on H Street, bounded by Jackson Place on the west, Madison Place on the east, and Pennsylvania Avenue to the south. The square and the surrounding historic townhouse structures were designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1970. Planned as part of the pleasure grounds surrounding the Executive Mansion, this square was originally called "President's Park", which is now the name of the larger National Park Service unit. In 1804, the park was separated from the White House grounds, when third President Thomas Jefferson had Pennsylvania Avenue cut through east–west. In 1824, the park was renamed in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, the Frenchman and military officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War, 1775–1783. Lafayette Square has been used as a racetrack, a graveyard, a zoo, a slave market, an encampment for soldiers during the War of 1812, and many political protests and celebrations. Andrew Jackson Downing landscaped Lafayette Square in 1851 in the picturesque style. President's Park South, commonly called The Ellipse, is a 52 acres (21 ha) park located just south of the White House fence. The entire park is open to the public, and features monuments within walking distance, including the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, and others.

Location

Categories

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

More in District of Columbia County

Historic places, battles, and census history across District of Columbia County.

More historic places in District of Columbia

Browse all historic places in District of Columbia.

Conflict records

Explore 19,000+ military engagements across American history.

District of Columbia history

Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.