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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 Clear

Place

Senate Parks

By
| March 11, 2025
Initially designed in 1929 by William E. Parsons, of the Chicago firm of Bennett, Parsons and Frost, the grounds were planned with the clear purpose of providing a gracious, functional and formal link between the U.S. Capitol and Union Station. Parsons' plan was carefully considered with a spatial
Fountain at the Botanic Gardens

Place

Bartholdi Fountain and Gardens

| June 10, 2020
Image Bartholdi Fountain and Gardens Created in 1932 when the U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG) was relocated, the park was renamed in 1985 after the sculptor of the historic " Fountain of Light and Water " located at its center, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi—later famous for the Statue of Liberty. Bartholdi Fountain and Gardens …
Bartholdi Gardens serves as a home landscape demonstration garden and showcases innovative plant combinations in a variety of styles and design themes.
Structure made of bricks surrounded by flowers.

Place

Summerhouse

| June 10, 2020
The fountain in the center of the building originally provided drinking water piped from a spring. The six small metal fittings around the fountain's upper perimeter secured chains that are believed to have held drinking cups or ladles. Three individual drinking fountains connected to the filtered city water supply now provide drinking water, and the central fountain is used only for display. The water supply for the grotto was originally provided by a runoff stream from a drinking fountain at the Capitol's west entrance. Later, a city-water stream was made to flow …
Construction on the Summerhouse began in 1879 and was completed in late 1880 or early 1881 by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.
Stone wall.

Place

Olmsted Hardscapes & Terrace

| June 10, 2020
Some of Olmsted's significant hardscape elements can be found on the East Front plaza of the  U.S. Capitol . Restoration and modernization work was completed as part of the building of the  Capitol Visitor Center . The fountains and lanterns are fully modernized , and new technologies, such as the fountain's water pressure levels, are tied to an anemometer that lowers the water pressure as winds rise. The terrace walls that wrap around the Capitol to the north, west and south are constructed largely of Lee Massachusetts …
In 1874, Frederick Law Olmsted was charged with devising a comprehensive landscape scheme for the U.S. Capitol. Olmsted's major concern was the visual presentation of the Capitol Building and the support of its daily functions.
Exterior view of a building.

Place

Thomas Jefferson Building

| June 9, 2020
The Library of Congress began in 1800 with a small appropriation to buy reference books and was originally housed in the U.S. Capitol's west center building.

Person

Frederick Law Olmsted Sr.

| June 9, 2020
Regarded as the founder of American landscape architecture, Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903) is best known for designing the grounds of New York City's Central Park, the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina and the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
Flower bed, outside, blue sky.

Place

U.S. Capitol Grounds

| June 10, 2020
Many of the trees on the grounds bear plaques that identify their species and their historic significance. The eastern part of the grounds contains the greatest number of historic and commemorative trees. At the East Capitol Street entrance to the Capitol Plaza are two large rectangular stone fountains. The bottom levels now contain plantings, but at times in the past they have been used to catch the spillover from the fountains. At other times, both levels have held plantings. Six massive red granite lamp piers topped with light fixtures in wrought-iron cages and 16 smaller bronze light fixtures …
The grounds immediately surrounding the U.S. Capitol are bordered by a stone wall and cover an area of 58.8 acres. Its boundaries are Independence Avenue on the south, Constitution Avenue on the north, First Street NE/SE on the east, and First Street NW/SW on the west.
Building at the end of a tree lined path.

Place

Botanic Garden Administrative Building

| June 10, 2020
The offices of the United States Botanic Garden's (USBG) executive director are located in a residential building at the south end of Bartholdi Park.
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