Folger Park is a public park named after former Secretary of the Treasury

Charles J. Folger Charles James Folger (April 16, 1818 – September 4, 1884) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was a State Senator in New York from 1862 to 1869 and served as the 34th U. ...

. It is located at 2nd Street and D Street,

Southeast, Washington, D.C. Southeast (SE or S.E.) is the southeastern quadrant of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and is located south of East Capitol Street and east of South Capitol Street. It includes the Capitol Hill and Anacostia neighborhoods, ...

, in the

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

neighborhood.

Andrew Ellicott Andrew Ellicott (January 24, 1754 – August 28, 1820) was an American land surveyor who helped map many of the territories west of the Appalachians, surveyed the boundaries of the District of Columbia, continued and completed Pierre (Pete ...

modified

Pierre L'Enfant Pierre "Peter" Charles L'Enfant (; August 2, 1754June 14, 1825) was a French-American military engineer who designed the basic plan for Washington, D.C. (capital city of the United States) known today as the L'Enfant Plan (1791). Early life an ...

's plan making what was street right of way into open space. Today the park is notable for two large pebble-faced concrete "fountain benches" (no longer containing drinking fountains) that sit on opposite sides of the park, facing each other. The park also contains a variety of trees, including ornamentals. Tree species include the copper beech,

southern magnolia ''Magnolia grandiflora'', commonly known as the southern magnolia or bull bay, is a tree of the family Magnoliaceae native to the Southeastern United States, from Virginia to central Florida, and west to East Texas. Reaching in height, it is a ...

, yellowwood, hackberry,

eastern redbud ''Cercis canadensis'', the eastern redbud, is a large deciduous shrub or small tree, native to eastern North America from southern Michigan south to central Mexico, east to New Jersey. Species thrive as far west as California and as far north as ...

deodar cedar ''Cedrus deodara'', the deodar cedar, Himalayan cedar, or deodar, is a species of cedar native to the Himalayas. Description It is a large evergreen coniferous tree reaching tall, exceptionally with a trunk up to in diameter. It has a conic c ...

, and

American holly ''Ilex opaca'', the American holly, is a species of holly, native to the eastern and south-central United States, from coastal Massachusetts south to central Florida, and west to southeastern Missouri and eastern Texas. Description ''Ilex opaca ...

Providence Hospital

While Folger Park proper is only the north block, the block to the south, between D and E Streets Southeast is also green space. The block to the south of Folger Park was the original site of Providence Hospital. The hospital was founded in 1861 by the Daughters of Charity. They originally rented a house at the corner of Second and D Streets, but soon acquired the entire block. In 1864 President Abraham Lincoln signed an Act of Congress authorizing funds for the construction of a five-story brick Second Empire-style building with

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

features. In 1904 the building was expanded to four times its original capacity and remodeled into a Mission style, including the 175-foot bell tower, according to the design of architect

Waddy Butler Wood Waddy Butler Wood (1869 – January 25, 1944) was a prominent American architect of the early 20th century and resident of Washington, D.C. Although Wood designed and remodeled numerous private residences, his reputation rested primarily o ...

. With the hospital dominating the area, Folger Park was originally known as Providence Hospital Square or the Square North of Providence Hospital. The hospital had deteriorated by 1947 and rather than shut down for a two-year remodel, in March 1956 the trustees relocated the hospital to its current 36-acre site at 1150 Varnum St. NE, near Catholic University. The Hospital building was demolished in 1964.

References

External links

*http://www.lunacommons.org/luna/servlet/detail/CORNELL~3~1~75757~10040207:Folger-Park,-Washington,-D--C- *http://wikimapia.org/3931856/Folger-Park *http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/485242/Plate+16,+Garfield+Park,+Folger+Park/ *https://www.flickr.com/photos/cornelluniversitylibrary/3678945336/ Parks in Washington, D.C. Urban public parks Capitol Hill {{WashingtonDC-geo-stub