Historic Concepts of the Mall
The National Mall is a special kind of public space, at once a symbol of American nationhood and political principles, an open and green space for recreation, a zone for tourists visiting national museums and monuments, and a stage for civic activities, marches, and demonstrations. Our present understanding of the Mall is, however, only the latest in a long history of changing meanings and functions.
Thomas Jefferson envisioned for the heart of the new Nation's Capital an open area of "public walks", between the President's House and Congress, where elected leaders and the public could meet and share a common civic space. Pierre L'Enfant incorporated Jefferson's notion into his city plan, which envisioned the Mall [slide-PLAN] as a grand avenue, a "place of general resort" lined with public buildings, embassies, and lecture halls, and stretching between the Capitol and Washington Monument and then westward into the wilderness.
By the late 19th century, however [slide - 19th VIEW], and following a long period of chaotic and uncontrolled growth, the Mall was a hub of activity, but of a character altogether different from that envisioned by L'Enfant. The Smithsonian "Castle" was set within a landscape based in part on Andrew Jack Downing's 1850s plans for a series of picturesque gardens. It shared the tree-covered grounds stretching between the Capitol and Washington Monument with all manner of brick and wooden buildings, grazing cows and sheep, a train station, and railroad tracks that cut across the width of the Mall.
Next: The Mall we know today ...
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