The Ellipse (sometimes referred to as President's Park South) is a park south of 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. ...

fence and north of

Constitution Avenue Constitution Avenue is a major east–west street in the northwest and northeast quadrants of the city of Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was originally known as B Street, and its western section was greatly lengthened and widened betw ...

and the

National Mall The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institut ...

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, ...

The Ellipse is also the name of the circumference street within the park. The entire park, which features monuments, is open to the public and is part 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 ...

. The Ellipse is the location for many annual events. From a mathematical point of view, the Ellipse is truly an

ellipse In mathematics, an ellipse is a plane curve surrounding two focus (geometry), focal points, such that for all points on the curve, the sum of the two distances to the focal points is a constant. It generalizes a circle, which is the special ty ...

. Its dimensions are for its major axis (east-west) and for its minor axis (north-south). Its eccentricity computes as e = 0.52 and its foci are apart, each from the center of the ellipse (east and west).

History

In 1791, the first plan for the park was drawn up by Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant. The Ellipse was known as "the White Lot" due to the

whitewash Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime ( calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk calcium carbonate, (CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes used ...

ed wooden fence that enclosed the park. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, the grounds of the Ellipse and the incomplete

Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk shaped building within the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army (1775–1784) in the American Revolutionary War and the ...

were used as corrals for horses, mules, and cattle, and as camp sites for Union troops. In 1860, the Ellipse was the regular playing field for the DC baseball team the Washington Senators and was the site of the first game between the Senators and the Washington Nationals. In 1865, the Nationals hosted a baseball tournament with the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

, for which viewing stands were built and admission was charged. Black baseball teams such as the Washington Mutuals and the Washington Alerts often used the White Lot until Blacks were banned from using the Ellipse in 1874. The Army Corps of Engineers began work on the Ellipse in 1867. The park was landscaped in 1879, and

American Elm ''Ulmus americana'', generally known as the American elm or, less commonly, as the white elm or water elm, is a species of elm native to eastern North America, naturally occurring from Nova Scotia west to Alberta and Montana, and south to Flor ...

s were planted around the existing portion of the roadway. In 1880, grading was begun and the Ellipse was created from what had been a common dump. In 1894, the Ellipse roadway was lit with electric lamps. In the 1890s, Congress authorized the use of the Ellipse grounds by special groups, including religious meetings and military encampments. As late as 1990,

baseball field A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...

s and

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be u ...

s existed in the park. Sporting events and demonstrations are still held on the Ellipse. President's Park South came under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service in 1933. On Christmas Eve 1923, President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...

started an unbroken tradition by lighting the first "

National Christmas Tree The National Christmas Tree is a large evergreen tree located in the northeast quadrant of the Ellipse near the White House in Washington, D.C. Each year since 1923, the tree has been decorated as a Christmas tree. Every year, early in Decembe ...

." The first tree, a cut

balsam fir ''Abies balsamea'' or balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada (Newfoundland west to central Alberta) and the northeastern United States (Minnesota east to Maine, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to ...

, was placed on the Ellipse by the District of Columbia Public Schools. From 1924 to 1953, live trees in various locations around and on the White House grounds were lit on Christmas Eve. In 1954, the ceremony returned to the Ellipse and with an expanded focus: the "Christmas Pageant of Peace." From 1954 through 1972, cut trees were used, but in 1973 a

Colorado blue spruce The blue spruce (''Picea pungens''), also commonly known as green spruce, Colorado spruce, or Colorado blue spruce, is a species of spruce tree. It is native to North America, and is found in USDA growing zones 1 through 7. It is found naturally ...

from

York, Pennsylvania York ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Yarrick''), known as the White Rose City (after the symbol of the House of York), is the county seat of York County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the south-central region of the state. The populati ...

was planted on the Ellipse. A replacement was planted in 1978. On August 10, 1933, the Ellipse was transferred to the National Park Service, the legal successor of three federal commissioners appointed by the President under an act of July 16, 1790, which directed initial construction. Their authority developed through acts of May 1, 1802;, April 19, 1816; March 3, 1849; March 2, 1867; July 1, 1898; February 26, 1925; March 3, 1933; and Executive Order of June 10, 1933. Under act of September 22, 1961, "the White House shall be administered pursuant to the act of August 25, 1916" and supplementary and amendatory acts. This NPS area was originally referred to simply as "The White House." In 1942, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the National Park Service granted permission for the construction of barracks as a special emergency war-time measure. The temporary barracks were erected on the south side of the

Old 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 ...

and the entire First Division Monument grounds. The "White House Barracks" were demolished in 1954. On January 6, 2021, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

delivered a speech to his supporters gathered around the Ellipse about

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

confirming the Electoral College votes following the November 2020 presidential election. The group, which included members of organized extremist groups, then did as the president said and proceeded to the Capitol. A number of supporters then rioted and stormed the Capitol. A bipartisan Senate report later found that at least seven individuals, including police officers and civilians, died in connection with the riot.

Memorials

Boy Scout Memorial The Boy Scout Memorial is a public artwork by American sculptor Donald De Lue, located at The Ellipse in Washington, D.C., United States. The ''Boy Scout Memorial'' serves as a tribute to the Boy Scouts of America. Description The sculpture con ...

Donald De Lue Donald Harcourt De Lue (October 5, 1897, Boston, Massachusetts – August 26, 1988, Leonardo, New Jersey) was an American sculptor, best known for his public monuments. Life and career De Lue studied at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and la ...

* Bulfinch Gatehouses by

Charles Bulfinch Charles Bulfinch (August 8, 1763 – April 15, 1844) was an early American architect, and has been regarded by many as the first American-born professional architect to practice.Baltzell, Edward Digby. ''Puritan Boston & Quaker Philadelphia''. Tra ...

* Butt-Millet Memorial Fountain by

Daniel Chester French Daniel Chester French (April 20, 1850 – October 7, 1931) was an American sculptor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, best known for his 1874 sculpture ''The Minute Man'' in Concord, Massachusetts, and his 1920 monume ...

* Ellipse Meridian Stone, located under the surface near the center of the Ellipse, commemorates President Thomas Jefferson's idea of an American prime meridian. *

Enid Haupt Enid Haupt ( Annenberg, formerly Bensinger; May 13, 1906 – October 25, 2005) was an American publisher and philanthropist whose gifts supported horticulture, the arts, architectural and historic preservation, and cancer research. She has been de ...

Fountains * First Division Monument by

National Menorah The National Menorah is a large Hanukkah menorah located in the northeast quadrant of The Ellipse near the White House in Washington, D.C. It was first lit in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter, and has been erected and lit every year since. The Menor ...

(seasonal) *

* Second Division Memorial by James Earle Fraser * Settlers of the District of Columbia Memorial *

Zero Milestone The Zero Milestone is a zero mile marker monument in Washington, D.C. intended as the initial milestone from which all road distances in the United States should be measured when it was built. At present, only roads in the Washington, D.C. ar ...

by Horace W. Peaslee

Events

Eastern roll eggs in the White House in 1929

Annual events on the Ellipse include the Christmas Pageant of Peace and formerly the "Twilight Tattoo" military pageant. From 1992 to 2005, it was the site for the commencement ceremony for

The George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

. It is also the queueing location for the annual White House

Easter Egg Roll Egg rolling, or an Easter egg roll is a traditional game played with eggs at Easter. Different nations have different versions of the game, usually played with hard-boiled, decorated eggs. History In Christianity, for the celebration of Easterti ...

and the White House garden tours. Under the auspices of the

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 ...

, the Capital Alumni Network and a number of neighborhood and military sports leagues play softball and flag football games on the grounds of the Ellipse. A number of

ultimate Ultimate or Ultimates may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Ultimate'' (Jolin Tsai album) * ''Ultimate'' (Pet Shop Boys album) *''Ultimate!'', an album by The Yardbirds *''The Ultimate (Bryan Adams Album)'', a compilatio ...

competitions are also held by various groups throughout the warmer months. The Ellipse Visitor Pavilion, opened for visitors in May 1994, distributes free tickets for special events at the White House such as the Easter Egg Roll and the fall and spring Garden Tours. It includes an information window, concession area, restrooms, telephones, water fountains, and a first aid area, all

accessible Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i.e ...

References

External links

The White House

White House Historical Association

The Shape and History of The Ellipse in Washington, D.C.
by Clark Kimberling {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellipse 1790 establishments in the United States Parks in Washington, D.C. National Park Service areas in Washington, D.C. President's Park White House