Meridian Hill Park (Malcolm X Park): This historic designed landscape stretches between the neighborhoods of Columbia Heights and Adams Morgan.
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Meridian Hill Park, also known today as Malcolm X Park following a 1969 speech by activist Angela Davis, is a distinguished example of landscape design. The hilly, twelve-acre park with its Beaux-Arts design elements is notable for its elaborate architectural composition within the diverse neighborhood that surrounds it. It is also notable for its concrete features by sculptor John J. Earley.
Opened in 1936, Meridian Hill Park features landscape architect Ferrucio Vitale’s designs, inspired by Italian villa landscapes of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The park can be divided into two principal areas: the lower park, with water cascading into linked basins, symmetric stairways, and a large reflecting pool surrounded by a plaza; and the upper park, with an open mall, wooded areas flanking the mall, and a broad terrace overlooking the lower park. The park also contains a number of statues and memorials, including the Buchanan Memorial and statues of Joan of Arc and Dante.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
National Register: October 25, 1974
National Historic Landmark: April 19, 1994
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![A 13-basin cascade fountain at Meridian Hill Park, [between 1980 and 2006]](https://historicsites.dcpreservation.org/files/fullsize/8044887101ed0ab2a0712894b5ff600e.jpg)
A 13-basin cascade fountain at Meridian Hill Park, [between 1980 and 2006]
Highsmith, Carol M, photographer. A 13-basin cascade fountain at Meridian Hill Park in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C. [Between 1980 and 2006] Image. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2011631820/. (Accessed November 22, 2016.)![Cascade fountain at Meridian Hill Park, [between 1980 and 2006]](https://historicsites.dcpreservation.org/files/fullsize/a73aafac84e26c46b09b0596832efb76.jpg)
Cascade fountain at Meridian Hill Park, [between 1980 and 2006]
Highsmith, Carol M, photographer. Cascade fountain at Meridian Hill Park, Washington, D.C. [Between 1980 and 2006] Image. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2011634082/. (Accessed November 22, 2016.)
Ceremony at Jeanne d"arc Memorial in Meridian Hill Park, January 1922
Harris & Ewing, photographer. [Ceremony at Jeanne d'Arc Memorial, Meridian Hill Park, Washington, D.C]. January 6, 1922. Image. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/hec2013011886/. (Accessed November 22, 2016.)
Child with armillary statue in Meridian Hill Park, 1936
Harris & Ewing, photographer. [Child with armillary sphere, Meridian Hill Park, Washington, D.C]. [1936] Image. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/hec2013010899/. (Accessed November 22, 2016.)
Buchanan Statue in Meridian Hill Park, August 1942
Ferrell, John, photographer. Washington, D.C. Buchanan statue in Meridian Hill Park. Aug, 1942. Image. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/fsa1998023087/PP/. (Accessed November 22, 2016.)
Circular Stairway in Meridian Hill Park, August 1942
Ferrell, John, photographer. Washington, D.C. Circular stairway in Meridian Hill Park, 16th Street, N.W. Aug, 1942. Image. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/fsa1998023081/PP/. (Accessed November 22, 2016.)
Meridian Hill Park, cascade and reflecting pool looking north from the sundial, August 1942
Ferrell, John, photographer. Washington, D.C. Cascade and reflecting pool looking north from the sundial in Meridian Hill Park. Aug, 1942. Image. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/fsa1998023084/PP/. (Accessed November 22, 2016.)
Meridian Hill Park, grand terrace, showing the long-step-cascade in the center, April 1963
Credit: National Park Service, National Capital Parks
Meridian Hill Park, Jeanne d"arc statue in the lower gardens, January 1966
Credit: National Park Service, National Capital Parks
Meridian Hill Park, Armillary sphere in the foreground with the statue of President Buchanan in the background to the right, December 1965
Credit: National Park Service, National Capital Parks