Washington, DC: National Mall

Washington, DC: Lying between the United States Capitol and the Potomac River is the National Mall. An open area lined by museums and packed with monuments and memorials, it is one of the top tourist attractions in the capitol.

The original plan of Washington DC designed by Pierre L’Enfant called for a vast avenue that extended from the Capitol to a statue of George Washington south of the White House. The avenue was never created, but the area set aside for it later became the National Mall.

By the mid 1800’s, the Mall began to take shape. Andrew Jackson Downing designed a landscape plan and several parks were created. The Central Market opened along the railroad tracks and museums began to open along the perimeter of the Mall.

In 1901, a plan was enacted to redesign the Mall into what we know today. The buildings and train tracks were removed for the center of the Mall and replaces with wide open grassy fields lines with elm trees. A dirt pathway was created down the middle of the Mall to represent the grand avenue in L’Enfant’s original plan.

Today the National Mall is 309 acres and contains some of the nations most popular monuments. The monuments and museums located within the Mall include;

• Arts and Industry Building
• District of Columbia War Memorial
• FDR Memorial
• Freer Gallery of Art
• Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
• Jefferson Memorial
• Koran War Monument
• Lincoln Memorial
• Martin Luther King Jr National Memorial (planned)
• National Air and Space Museum
• National Gallery of Art
• National Museum of African American History and Culture (planned)
• National Museum of African Art
• National Museum of American History
• National Museum of Natural History
• National Museum of the American Indian
• Smithsonian Castle
• Ulysses S Grant Memorial
• United States Botanic Garden
• Washington Monument
• World War II Monument

The National Mall has also been site of some of our nation’s historic moments. In 1963, protesters marched on Washington in support of civil rights and over 200,000 people packed the Mall to hear Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream Speech”. Large groups also formed again in 1969 for the Vietnam War Rally, 2004 for the March for Women’s Lives and then in 2007 for an Opposition to the Iraq War. One of the largest crowds came for the inaguaration of President Barack Obama when a projected 2 million people packed the mall for the swearing in ceremony.

Over 24 million people visit the National Mall each year. Some to take in the sights of the Mall, some to stand up for what they believe in and other simply to take a break from urban life. So no matter what you’re looking for, one thing is for certain, the National Mall has something to offer for everyone.

For more photos from Washington DC, including the National Mall, please visit my Washington DC photo page.

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