The Lafayette Square Historic District is a

National Historic Landmark District National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, encompassing a portion of the original

L'Enfant Plan The L'Enfant Plan for the city of Washington is the urban plan developed in 1791 by Major Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant for George Washington, the first president of the United States. History L'Enfant was a French engineer who served in ...

for the city's core. It includes the Lafayette Square portion of

President's Park 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. Pr ...

, all of the buildings facing it except the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

, and the buildings flanking the White House to the east and west. The district was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970.

Lafayette Square history

was designated as the site for the United States capital in the 1790

Residence Act The Residence Act of 1790, officially titled An Act for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of the Government of the United States (), is a United States federal statute adopted during the second session of the First United States Co ...

, with authority given to President

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

to ready the capital for the government by 1800. Planned by

Pierre Charles 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 ...

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 The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

unit under which it is administered, which also includes the grounds of the White House and

The Ellipse The Ellipse (sometimes referred to as President's Park South) is a park south of the White House fence and north of Constitution Avenue and the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The Ellipse is also the name of the circumference street within t ...

. The square was separated from the White House grounds in 1804, when third President

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

had

Pennsylvania Avenue Pennsylvania Avenue is a diagonal street in Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland, that connects the White House and the United States Capitol and then crosses the city to Maryland. In Maryland it is also Maryland Route 4 (MD 4) ...

cut through east to west. In 1824, it was officially renamed in honor of the

Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revoluti ...

, the

Frenchman The French people (french: Français) are an ethnic group and nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common French culture, history, and language, identified with the country of France. The French people, especially the nati ...

who fought in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

(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 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, and many political protests and celebrations.

Andrew Jackson Downing Andrew Jackson Downing (October 31, 1815 – July 28, 1852) was an American landscape designer, horticulturist, and writer, a prominent advocate of the Gothic Revival in the United States, and editor of ''The Horticulturist'' magazine (1846–5 ...

landscaped Lafayette Square in 1851 in the picturesque style.

Surrounding buildings

Lafayette Square is surrounded by buildings dating back to the early 19th century, and are in a variety of styles. Due to their proximity to the nation's centers of power, many of them have significance of their own, and are independently listed as National Historic Landmarks.

West Side

The west side of Lafayette Square is

Jackson Place Jackson Place is a Washington, D.C. street located across from the White House and forming the western border of Lafayette Square between Pennsylvania Avenue and H Street, NW, beginning just south of Connecticut Avenue. History The block is s ...

. It is lined by a series of townhouses that were built in the mid-to-late 19th century. The two at the southern end are part of the

Blair House Blair House, also known as The President's Guest House, is an official residence in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The President's Guest House has been called "the world's most exclusive hotel" because it is primarily used ...

complex for visiting dignitaries; one of these, the

Peter Parker House The Peter Parker House, also known as the former headquarters of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, is a historic row house at 700 Jackson Place NW in Washington D.C. Built in 1860, it is historically significant for its association ...

, is a National Historic Landmark. 734 Jackson Place is also known as the

American Peace Society house The American Peace Society House, also known as the Glover House, is a historic house at 734 Jackson Place NW, facing Lafayette Square in the heart of Washington, D.C. Built in 1878 for banker and philanthropist Charles Carroll Glover, it is mos ...

, and 736 Jackson Place was a temporary residence of 26th President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

while the White House underwent renovation in 1902. 748 Jackson Place, at the north end of the block, is called the

Decatur House Decatur House is a historic house museum at 748 Jackson Place in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It is named after its first owner and occupant Stephen Decatur. The house (built, 1818) is located at the northwest corner of L ...

; it is a prominent surviving design of

Benjamin Henry Latrobe Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe (May 1, 1764 – September 3, 1820) was an Anglo-American neoclassical architect who emigrated to the United States. He was one of the first formally trained, professional architects in the new United States, draw ...

. Flanking the White House on the west side is the

Eisenhower Executive Office Building The Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB)—formerly known as the Old Executive Office Building (OEOB), and originally as the State, War, and Navy Building—is a U.S. government building situated just west of the White House in the U.S. ca ...

, constructed 1871–1888, as the State, War and Navy Department Building, once the world's largest office building.

North Side

Lafayette Square is flanked on the north by H Street. From west to east, the buildings lining the street are the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Building, the

Hay–Adams Hotel The Hay–Adams is an historic luxury hotel opened in 1928, located at 800 16th Street NW in Washington, D.C. It south-fronts on Lafayette Square across from the White House. It sits on the former site of the connected 19th-century mansions wh ...

, St. John's Episcopal Church, the

Ashburton House Ashburton House, also known as St. John's Church Parish House or the British Legation, is a historic house at 1525 H Street NW, on Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C. Built in 1836, it is notable as the residence of Lord Ashburton in 1842, ...

, and the headquarters of the

United States Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers a ...

East Side

Madison Place Madison Place is a one-block street located in northwest Washington, D.C., across from the White House. It forms the eastern border of Lafayette Square (the northernmost part of President's Park) between Pennsylvania Avenue and H Street NW. Buil ...

lines Lafayette Square to the east. Buildings facing it include the

Howard T. Markey National Courts Building The Howard T. Markey National Courts Building (formerly the National Courts Building) is a courthouse in Washington, D.C., which houses the United States Court of Federal Claims and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. It ...

, the Benjamin Ogle Tayloe House, the Cutts-Madison House, and the

Freedman's Bank Building The Freedman's Bank Building, previously known as the Treasury Annex, is a historic office building located on the corner of Madison Place and Pennsylvania Avenue in Northwest Washington, D.C. in Washington, D.C. It sits on the east side of Laf ...

. Flanking the White House on the east side is the

Treasury Building A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or in ...

Navy Yard Urns

Two

urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...

s reside on the south side of the district, between Jackson Place and Madison Place. They each stand at 5 feet tall by 4 feet wide, and are made of bronze with granite bases. The sides of the urns are decorated with classical female figures. The urns were part of the original park plan as designed by

in 1852. They may have been designed by Downing, or his assistant

Calvert Vaux Calvert Vaux (; December 20, 1824 – November 19, 1895) was an English-American architect and landscape designer, best known as the co-designer, along with his protégé and junior partner Frederick Law Olmsted, of what would become New York Ci ...

. The urns were cast in a New York foundry at the orders of

George M. Robeson George Maxwell Robeson (March 16, 1829 – September 27, 1897) was an American politician and lawyer from New Jersey. A brigadier general in the New Jersey Militia during the American Civil War, he served as Secretary of the Navy, appointed by Pr ...

, who was

Secretary of the United States Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the United States Department of the Navy, Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States D ...

at the time. The urns were originally placed on granite bases in the center of two small

flower bed Raised-bed gardening is a form of gardening in which the soil is raised above ground level and usually enclosed in some way. Raised bed structures can be made of wood, rock, concrete or other materials, and can be of any size or shape. The soil is ...

s to the east and west sides of the Andrew Jackson statue. In 1879, they were fitted with metal pans which allowed them to be used as flower pots. The park was redesigned in 1936, and the urns were moved to their current location.

References

External links

NRHP 'travel itinerary' listing at the

* * {{National Register of Historic Places National Historic Landmarks in Washington, D.C. Historic American Buildings Survey in Washington, D.C. Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Federal architecture in Washington, D.C. Victorian architecture in Washington, D.C. Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C.