Misplaced Pages

#838161

147-639: Constitution Avenue's western half defines the northern border of the National Mall and extends from the United States Capitol to the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge . Its eastern half runs through the neighborhoods of Capitol Hill and Kingman Park before it terminates at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium . Many federal departmental headquarters, memorials, and museums line Constitution Avenue's western segment. When

294-535: A traffic circle around the Lincoln Memorial to accommodate the bridge, B Street approach, parkway approach, and Ohio Drive SW approach. The AMBC was dissatisfied with Kendall's design, however, and ordered a major restudy of the B Street connection in December 1926. In May 1927, Kendall presented a revised design for the B Street approach to the Lincoln Memorial traffic circle. The NCPC, concerned with

441-425: A 145-year-old forest that stood within the property boundaries of a historic district that a National Register of Historic Places nomination form for Arlington House had described in 1966. About 491 trees would be removed from an area of trees that was approximately 105 years old. Approximately 203 trees with ages of 50 to 145 years would be removed from a former picnic area. At a public hearing on July 11, 2013,

588-574: A committee of the 104th United States Congress provided no funds for NPS crowd-counting activities in Washington, D.C., when it prepared legislation making 1997 appropriations for the U.S. Department of the Interior . As a result, the NPS has not provided any official crowd size estimates for Mall events since 1995. The absence of such an official estimate fueled a political controversy following

735-550: A component of the Department of the Interior, informed the National Capital Planning Commission that it wanted to transfer only 4 acres (1.6 ha) to the cemetery, rather than the 12 acres (4.9 ha) that the 1995 agreement had described. In response, Metzler stated: "I was surprised. But we will continue to work with the Department of Interior and see what happens." On July 12, 1999,

882-457: A difficult decision about how to link the two sections of Constitution Avenue NW between 3rd and 6th Streets NW remained. Pennsylvania Avenue NW cut diagonally northwest-to-southeast through these three city blocks, and it was not readily apparent how to handle the crossing so that Constitution Avenue traffic could turn right and left from either direction. The section of the roadway between 6th and 14th Streets NW also remained to be widened. But with

1029-403: A limitation on mass media access to funerals, which also proved controversial. Until 2005, the cemetery's administration gave free access, with the family's permission, to the press to cover funerals at the cemetery. In July 2008, The Washington Post reported that cemetery had imposed gradually increasing restrictions on media coverage of funerals beginning three years earlier, in 2005. After

1176-520: A peak in the 1970s. The NPS has used a number of methods to control this fungal epidemic, including sanitation , pruning , injecting trees with fungicide and replanting with DED-resistant American elm cultivars (see Ulmus americana cultivars ). The NPS cloned one such cultivar ( 'Jefferson' ) from a DED-resistant tree growing near a path on the Mall in front of the Freer Gallery of Art, near

1323-581: A principal axis in the L'Enfant Plan for the city of Washington. However, a 2010 NPS plan for the Mall contains maps that show the Mall's general area to be larger. A document within the plan describes this area as "the grounds of the U.S. Capitol west to the Potomac River, and from the Thomas Jefferson Memorial north to Constitution Avenue". A map within the plan entitled "National Mall Areas" illustrates "The Mall" as being

1470-643: A representative tree was 258 years old. The Interment Zone was also determined to contain significant archeological and cultural landscape resources, in addition to those in the Preservation Zone. The EA described four alternative courses of action. In contrast to the National Park Service's March 1998 statement to the National Capital Planning Commission, the 1999 environmental assessment stated that

1617-474: A surplus at the end of the Christmas holiday season. Recalling a boyhood trip to Arlington National Cemetery, company founder Morrill Worcester donated 5,000 wreaths to the cemetery to honor the cemetery's dead with the help of volunteers and a local trucking company. In 2005, after 13 years of similar donations, a photo of snowy gravestones covered with wreaths at the cemetery received widespread circulation on

SECTION 10

#1732775922839

1764-726: Is a landscaped park near the downtown area of Washington, D.C. , the capital city of the United States . It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institution , art galleries, cultural institutions, and various memorials, sculptures, and statues. It is administered by the National Park Service (NPS) of the United States Department of the Interior as part of the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit of

1911-478: Is bounded by Louisiana Avenue NW, Columbus Circle , 1st Street NE, and Constitution Avenue NE/NW, was home to several dilapidated office buildings and hotels. But beginning in 1910, Congress started to acquire entire city blocks in this area, with the intent of building an underground parking garage and creating a park between the Capitol and Washington Union Station , which opened in 1908. The question confronting

2058-486: Is the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge ; thus, Constitution Avenue connects the city's ceremonial core with Interstate 66 . The eastern terminus is at 21st Street NE, just west of Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium . Through traffic is diverted via North Carolina Avenue NE and C Street NE to the Whitney Young Memorial Bridge . Between Louisiana Avenue and Interstate 66, Constitution Avenue is part of

2205-463: Is the oldest building now present on the National Mall (proper). The Washington Monument, whose construction began in 1848 and reached completion in 1888, stands near the planned site of its namesake's equestrian statue. The Jefferson Pier marks the planned site of the statue itself. During the early 1850s, architect and horticulturist Andrew Jackson Downing designed a landscape plan for

2352-481: The 56th United States Congress appropriated $ 75,000 (equivalent to $ 2,746,800 in 2023) to settle the U.S. government's debts to them. With limited space but large numbers of KIAs from World War II , Korean War , Vietnam War , along with natural deaths from high-ranking military officials, the need for additional burial space at Arlington Cemetery became a challenge and priority to the U.S. government. On May 30, 1929, U.S. President Herbert Hoover conducted

2499-662: The Architect of the Capitol the NPS "property which is bounded on the north by Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, on the east by First Street Northwest and First Street Southwest, on the south by Maryland Avenue Southwest, and on the west by Third Street Southwest and Third Street Northwest". This act removed Union Square (the area containing the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial and the Capitol Reflecting Pool ) from NPS jurisdiction. The National Park Service states that

2646-589: The Commemorative Works Clarification and Revision Act . This Act prohibits the siting of new commemorative works and visitor centers in a designated reserve area within the cross-axis of the Mall. In October 2013, a two-week federal government shutdown closed the National Mall and its museums and monuments. However, when a group of elderly veterans tried to enter the National World War II Memorial during

2793-505: The Department of Commerce , Department of Justice , Environmental Protection Agency , Federal Trade Commission , Internal Revenue Service , and National Archives . The Embassy of Canada and John Marshall Park are located further east of Federal Triangle. Once past Pennsylvania Avenue NW, the E. Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse , George Gordon Meade Memorial , and Department of Labor headquarters, and Senate Park border

2940-618: The Department of the Interior , and the Organization of American States . The Ellipse , part of the grounds of the President's Park (which includes the White House), also borders the north side of Constitution Avenue NW and forms the boundary between the western and eastern segments of this part of the street. To the east on the north side is Federal Triangle , which contains the headquarters of many federal agencies. These include

3087-776: The Great Depression worsening, highway construction funds were minimal. Franklin D. Roosevelt took office as President of the United States in March 1933. Convinced that massive federal spending on public works was essential not only to "prime the pump" of the economy but also to cut unemployment, Roosevelt proposed passage of the National Industrial Recovery Act . The act contained $ 6 billion in public works spending, which included $ 400 million for road, bridge, and highway construction. With

SECTION 20

#1732775922839

3234-914: The Military Women's Memorial , and Arlington Memorial Bridge , was listed on the National Register of Historic Places . In 1802, George Washington Parke Custis , the grandson of George Washington 's wife Martha through her first marriage, began building Arlington House at the present-day Arlington National Cemetery on land that he inherited from John Parke Custis , his natural father, following his death. Custis went to live at Mount Vernon where George Washington and Martha raised him as their own son. In 1804, Custis married Mary Lee Fitzhugh . They had four children, but only one, Mary Anna Randolph Custis , survived into adulthood. On June 30, 1831, she married future Confederate States Army general Robert E. Lee . In 1818, Arlington House

3381-532: The National Highway System . Sections of Constitution Avenue are designated U.S. Route 1 , U.S. Route 50 , or both. Specifically, U.S. 50 runs along the road from its west end to 6th Street NW (eastbound) and 9th Street NW (westbound). U.S. 1 northbound uses the eastbound lanes of Constitution Avenue NW from 14th Street NW to 6th Street NW; southbound U.S. 1 used to run west from 9th Street NW to 15th Street NW but now continues straight through

3528-697: The National Museum of African American History and Culture (under construction as of 2013), the National Museum of American History , the National Museum of Natural History , National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden , and the National Gallery of Art . Once past the National Gallery of Art, the ground of the United States Capitol borders the south side of the avenue. The north side of Constitution Avenue NE features

3675-621: The National Park Service -controlled Arlington House and 2001, 37 acres (15 ha) of land in 1999 from the DoD that was the site of the Navy Annex building, 8 acres (3.2 ha) of land in 1999 from the Department of the Army that was part of Fort Myer , 4 acres (1.6 ha) of land from Arlington County's Southgate Road right-of-way in 2004, and just under 10 acres (4.0 ha) of land from Fort Myer in 2005. On September 23, 1996,

3822-554: The National Park System . The park receives approximately 24 million visitors each year. Designed by Pierre L'Enfant , the "Grand Avenue" or Mall was to be a democratic and egalitarian space—unlike palace gardens, such as those at Versailles in France, that were paid for by the people but reserved for the use of a privileged few. The core area of the National Mall extends between the United States Capitol grounds to

3969-687: The President 's House (now the White House ) and directly west of the Congress House (see L'Enfant Plan ) on the site of the Washington Monument. The grand avenue was to be flanked by gardens and spacious accommodations for foreign ministers. Mathew Carey 's 1802 map is reported to be the first to name the area west of the United States Capitol as the "Mall". The name is derived from that of The Mall in London , which during

4116-535: The Russell , Dirksen , and Hart Senate office buildings. The roadway passes through the Capitol Hill and Kingman Park neighborhoods, and on its south side is bordered by the football stadium of Eastern High School between 17th and 19th Streets NE. 38°53′31″N 77°00′33″W  /  38.892072°N 77.009237°W  / 38.892072; -77.009237 National Mall The National Mall

4263-631: The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on November 11, 1921, Harding began pushing Congress to move on constructing a new bridge. Congress approved funding for design work on June 12, 1922, and authorized construction of the Arlington Memorial Bridge on February 24, 1925. The 1925 legislation specified that B Street NW be treated as a major approach to Arlington Memorial Bridge. Several design problems presented themselves. The first

4410-473: The United States Department of Agriculture in 1862 during the Civil War. Designed by Adolf Cluss and Joseph von Kammerhueber, the United States Department of Agriculture Building (No. 25 on the map), was constructed in 1867–1868 north of B Street SW within a 35-acre site on the Mall. After the Civil War ended, the Department of Agriculture started growing experimental crops and demonstration gardens on

4557-629: The United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery ) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Arlington County Board and the Department of the Army to expand the cemetery even further. Under the tentative plan, Arlington County would give up the easement for Southgate Road (which lies between the Navy Annex property and the cemetery's 2012 boundary), and obtain a narrow easement along

Constitution Avenue - Misplaced Pages Continue

4704-655: The hairpin turn in Columbia Pike straightened, to provide a safer, more natural exit from S. Washington Blvd. onto Columbia Pike. Although exact acreages were not specified and the plan depended upon the Commonwealth of Virginia's cooperation, the MOU if implemented would have created a more contiguous plot of land for the cemetery. On March 12, 2013, the Corps of Engineers released a revised environmental assessment for

4851-469: The 1700s was a fashionable promenade near Buckingham Palace upon which the city's elite strolled. The Washington City Canal , completed in 1815 in accordance with the L'Enfant Plan, travelled along the former course of Tiber Creek to the Potomac River along B Street Northwest (NW) (now Constitution Avenue NW) and south along the base of a hill containing the Congress House, thus defining

4998-487: The 1860s. In 1871, Congress abolished the elected mayor and bicameral legislature of the District of Columbia, and established a territorial government . Territorial government only lasted until 1874, when Congress imposed an appointed three-member commission on the city. During this period, the D.C. Board of Public Works enclosed the canal and turned it into a sewer. B Street NW from 15th Street to Virginia Avenue NW

5145-731: The 1893 map of the Mall) was built at the intersection of B Street SW and 6th Street SW on the Armory Grounds. In 1862, during the American Civil War , the building was converted to a military hospital known as Armory Square Hospital to house Union Army casualties. After the war ended, the Armory building became the home of the United States Fish Commission . The United States Congress established

5292-466: The 400 feet (120 m) wide "grand avenue" with a 300 feet (91 m) wide vista containing a long and broad expanse of grass. Four rows of American elm trees ( Ulmus americana ) planted fifty feet apart between two paths or streets would line each side of the vista. Buildings housing cultural and educational institutions constructed in the Beaux-Arts style would line each outer path or street, on

5439-688: The 9th Street Tunnel to I-395 . Many important buildings and attractions border Constitution Avenue NW. In the west are several independent federal agencies and institutes, as well as the headquarters of several significant associations. These buildings include the United States Institute of Peace Headquarters , the American Institute of Pharmacy , the National Academy of Sciences , the Federal Reserve ,

5586-538: The AMBC and NCPC was whether B Street should continue east through this area to connect with B Street NE or end at Pennsylvania Avenue NW. To help plan and develop this area, on April 6, 1928, Congress enacted legislation establishing the Capitol Plaza Commission. On April 19, the Capitol Plaza Commission issued its first preliminary plan for Senate Park. This plan assumed B Street would extend through

5733-443: The AMBC budget to the city coffers for this construction. The city came up with another $ 82,100 to finance its portion of the costs. As part of the funding agreement, the city said it would build only a 72-foot (22 m) wide street between North Capitol Street and 1st Street NW, an 80-foot (24 m) wide street between 1st and 2nd Streets NW, and an 80-foot (24 m) wide street between Pennsylvania Avenue NW and 6th Street NW. But

5880-588: The Arlington Cemetery grounds. On December 9, 1882, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5–4 in Lee's favor in United States v. Lee , concluding that the U.S. government seized Arlington Cemetery and its surrounding grounds without affording Lee due process. Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Congress abided by the Supreme Court ruling, and returned the estate to Lee. By this time, however, Lee

6027-643: The Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission (AMBC), whose purpose was to design and build a bridge somewhere in West Potomac Park that would link the city to Arlington National Cemetery . But Congress appropriated no money for the design or construction due to the onset of World War I. But after President Warren G. Harding was trapped in a three-hour traffic jam on the Highway Bridge while on his way to dedicate

Constitution Avenue - Misplaced Pages Continue

6174-638: The Army could find a successor. In December 2016, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328) authorized the Secretary of the Army to expand the cemetery by acquiring from Arlington County and the Commonwealth of Virginia by condemnation and other means properties near the cemetery that contain the Southgate Road, South Joyce Street and Washington Boulevard right-of-ways, including

6321-558: The Capitol. Near the tracks, several structures were built over the years. The Baltimore and Potomac Railroad station (B on the map) rose in 1873 on the north side of the Mall at the southwest corner of 6th Street and B Street NW (now the site of the west building of the National Gallery of Art ). In 1881, the Arts and Industries Building (No. 34 on the map), known originally as the National Museum Building, opened on

6468-499: The Civil War still ongoing, the Union acquired Arlington Cemetery for $ 26,800, equivalent to $ 522,087 in 2023, after the property was placed for tax sale. Mrs. Lee did not appear in person for the tax sale, but sent an agent, who attempted to pay the $ 92.07 allegedly owed in property taxes, equivalent to $ 1,794 in 2023, which had been assessed on the estate. The Union government, however, turned her agent away, and refused to accept

6615-725: The Custis-Lee Mansion, was passed on to her eldest grandson, George Washington Custis Lee . In April 1861, following the Confederate States Army bombing of Fort Sumter in the Battle of Fort Sumter and the Union Army 's subsequent surrender of the fort, the American Civil War was launched, and Virginia promptly seceded from the Union . On April 15, realizing that Fort Sumter's fall left

6762-437: The District of Columbia was founded in 1790, the Potomac River was much wider than it currently is, and a major tidal estuary known as Tiber Creek flowed roughly from 6th Street NW to the shore of the river just south of the White House . In Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant's original plan for the city in 1791, B Street NW began at 6th Street NW, and ended at the river's edge at 15th Street NW. Its eastern segment, which

6909-469: The DoD $ 84 million to plan, design and construct the Millennium Project. The legislation additionally appropriated to the DoD $ 19 million to study, plan and design a future expansion of the cemetery's burial space. On June 5, 2013, after reviewing 100 public comments that it had received on the revised environmental assessment, the Corps of Engineers released a final EA and a signed FONSI for

7056-747: The Liberty Loan Building, remained standing in 2019 while housing the Treasury Department's Bureau of the Fiscal Service . In 1918, contractors for the United States Navy 's Bureau of Yards and Docks constructed the Main Navy and Munitions Buildings along nearly a third of a mile of the south side of Constitution Avenue (then known as B Street), from 17th Street NW to 21st Street NW. Although

7203-441: The Mall along the east side of the former railroad route on 6th Street. The smokestacks of the buildings' centrally-located power plant were set apart to preserve the view of the Washington Monument from the Capitol building. Soon afterwards, the government constructed Buildings D, E and F to the east and west of the row. Around 1921 (when the United States and Germany signed the U.S.–German Peace Treaty , thus formally ending

7350-417: The Mall. Over the next half century, federal agencies developed several naturalistic parks within the Mall in accordance with Downing's plan. Two such areas were Henry Park and Seaton Park. During that period, the Mall was subdivided into several areas between B Street Northwest (NW) (now Constitution Avenue NW) and B Street Southwest (SW) (now Independence Avenue SW): In 1856, the Armory (No. 27 on

7497-424: The Mall. These gardens extended from the department's building near the south side of the Mall to B Street NW (the northern boundary of the Mall). The building was razed in 1930. In addition, greenhouses belonging to the U.S. Botanical Garden (No. 16 on the map) appeared near the east end of the Mall between the Washington City Canal and the Capitol (later between 1st and 3rd Streets NW and SW). Originating during

SECTION 50

#1732775922839

7644-418: The Millennium Project. The revised environmental assessment included copies of a number of public comments on the draft that criticized the project and parts of the assessment while proposing alternative locations for new military burials near the cemetery and elsewhere. However, the Department of Forestry of the Commonwealth of Virginia found that, based on information in the draft environmental assessment,

7791-402: The Millennium Project. The Final EA and the FONSI retained Alternative E as the preferred alternative. The final environmental assessment stated that, of the 905 trees to be removed, 771 trees were healthy native trees that had diameters between six and 41 inches. The project involved removing approximately 211 trees from a less than 2.63 acres (1.06 ha) area containing a portion of

7938-437: The NCPC and the Office of the Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury (which was overseeing the construction of the Federal Triangle office complex on the north side of B Street between 6th and 15th Streets NW). The NCPC agreed in February 1927 that B Street should extend to Pennsylvania Avenue NW and was studying whether to extend it through the proposed Senate Park. Architect William Mitchell Kendall proposed creating

8085-421: The NPS prepared a National Register nomination form that documented the Mall's boundaries, features and historical significance. From the 1970s to 1994, a fiberglass model of a triceratops named Uncle Beazley stood on the Mall in front of the National Museum of Natural History . The life-size statue, which is now located at the National Zoological Park (the National Zoo) in Northwest Washington, D.C. ,

8232-404: The National Capital Planning Commission approved the site and building plans for the Millennium Project. In August 2015, the U.S. Army removed Lechner as superintendent of the cemetery after a performance review "called into question his ability to serve successfully as a senior leader". The Army declined to elaborate further and appointed Hallinan to be the temporary Cemetery superintendent until

8379-409: The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 (Public Law 104–201) authorized the Secretary of the Interior to transfer to the Secretary of the Army all of the land in Section 29 that was within an "Arlington National Cemetery Interment Zone" and some of the land in the Section that was within a "Robert E. Lee Memorial Preservation Zone". On March 5, 1998, the National Park Service,

8526-466: The National Mall Historic District 's boundary to encompass an area bounded by 3rd Street, NW/SW, Independence Avenue, SW, Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW, the CSX Railroad , the Potomac River , Constitution Avenue, NW, 17th Street, NW, the White House Grounds, and 15th Street, NW. The listing's registration form, which contained 232 pages, described and illustrated the history and features of the historic district's proposed expanded area. In combination with

8673-447: The National Park Service published a Federal Register notice, announcing the availability of an environmental assessment for the transfer. The EA stated that the Interment Zone contained the oldest and largest tract of climax eastern hardwood forest in Arlington County. This forest was the same type that once covered the Arlington estate, and had regenerated from trees that were present historically. A forestry study determined that

8820-408: The Navy intended the buildings to provide temporary quarters for the United States military during World War I, the reinforced concrete structures remained in place until 1970. After their demolition, much of their former sites became Constitution Gardens , which was dedicated in 1976. During World War II, the government constructed a larger set of temporary buildings on the Mall in the area of

8967-550: The Potomac River. It also said that the avenue should be no wider than 72 feet (22 m) from Pennsylvania Avenue NW to 3rd Street NW. As the nature of the B Street project became apparent, there were calls to rename the street. In early 1930, legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives to rename the road L'Enfant Avenue. City officials opposed the name, however, advocating instead for Lincoln or Washington Avenue. Representative Henry Allen Cooper of Wisconsin subsequently introduced legislation in June 1930 to rename

SECTION 60

#1732775922839

9114-421: The Potomac would completely alleviate all traffic issues within 50 years, he said. By September 1927, the NCPC's vision for B Street had expanded. The agency saw B Street not just as a gateway but as one of the city's great parade avenues, similar to Pennsylvania Avenue NW. B Street's renewal soon became caught up in the creation of Senate Park north of the United States Capitol building. This area, which today

9261-457: The Secretary of the Interior to transfer to the Secretary of the Army jurisdiction over the Interment Zone, which is the plan in Alternative 3. Adoption of any of the other alternatives would require legislative action to amend the existing law." In 1998, a Congressional proposal to expand the cemetery onto land that the Navy Annex and Fort Myer then occupied led to concerns that Arlington County officials had not been properly consulted, leading to

9408-437: The Secretary of the Interior to transfer to the Secretary of the Army within 30 days the approximately 12 acres (4.9 ha) Interment Zone. The transfer therefore involved the entire 12 acres (4.9 ha) of NPS land that the 1995 agreement and Alternative 3 in the 1999 EA had described. The 2001 legislation required the Secretary of the Army to use the Interment Zone for in-ground burial sites and columbarium . In addition,

9555-447: The Smithsonian Institution Building ("The Castle"). The NPS has combated the disease's local insect vector , the smaller European elm bark beetle ( Scolytus multistriatus ), by trapping and by spraying with insecticides . Soil compaction and root damage by crowds and construction projects also adversely affect the elms. On October 15, 1966, the NPS listed the National Mall on the National Register of Historic Places . In 1981,

9702-417: The Superintendent of Arlington National Cemetery, asked the U.S. Army's Quartermaster General to close the village on the grounds that people living in it had been taking trees at night from the cemetery for use as firewood. The Quartermaster General and the Secretary of War then approved Commerford's request. In 1874, George Washington Custis Lee sued the U.S. federal government , claiming ownership of

9849-454: The Supply Division of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , overseeing the equipping security forces in Iraq and Afghanistan . Since 2010, he served as executive officer and deputy superintendent of the cemetery under Hallinan. In September 2008, environmentalists expressed concerns that the agreement would result in the partial destruction of the 24-acre (9.7 ha) remnant of a historically important stand of native trees. A historical marker near

9996-462: The U.S. Army a part of Arlington Woods, which was located in Section 29 of the National Park Service at Arlington National Cemetery between Arlington House and Fort Myer . The property transfer, which involved 12 acres (4.9 ha) of NPS land, was intended to permit Metzler to start expanding the cemetery beyond its existing boundaries. In September 1996, Arlington Cemetery received the authority to transfer 12 acres (4.9 ha) of woodland from

10143-508: The Union from Arlington and neighboring Alexandria . On May 7, 1861, however, the Confederate-aligned Virginia militia captured Arlington and Arlington House. With Confederate forces occupying the high ground of Arlington, the neighboring national capital in Washington, D.C. was left vulnerable to Confederate Army attack. Despite not wanting to leave Arlington House, Mary Lee believed her estate would soon be recaptured by Union soldiers. On May 14, she buried many of her family treasures on

10290-545: The Union. On May 13, 1864, William Henry Christman was buried at Arlington Cemetery, close to what is now the northeast gate in Section 27, even though Meigs did not formally authorize establishment of burials until the following month, on June 15, 1864. Consistent with the practices of many cemeteries in the late 19th century, Arlington Cemetery maintained segregated burial practices. On July 26, 1948, however, U.S. president Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 9981, which formally reversed this practice. In 1864, with

10437-422: The Virginia Native Plant Society recognized the woodland as being one of the best examples of old growth terraced gravel forest remaining in Virginia. On December 12, 2012, the United States Army Corps of Engineers asked for comments on a draft environmental assessment that described a further expansion of Arlington National Cemetery as part of the Millennium Project. The 2012 draft environmental assessment

10584-697: The Washington Boulevard-Columbia Pike interchange. The Army then informed the Arlington County government in June 2017 that the Army would no longer pursue a land exchange with the county. The Army told the County that the Army would use the entire Navy Annex site to expand the cemetery and would acquire for the cemetery about 5 acres (2.0 ha) of public land that Arlington County then owned. The Army would also acquire for

10731-417: The above map: In its 1981 National Register of Historic Places nomination form, the NPS defined the boundaries of the National Mall (proper) as Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues on the north, 1st Street NW on the east, Independence and Maryland Avenues on the south, and 14th Street NW on the west, with the exception of the section of land bordered by Jefferson Drive on the north, Independence Avenue on

10878-425: The act's passage moving forward swiftly, D.C. officials asked Congress on June 12 for the funds to finish widening Constitution Avenue NW. The act passed on June 13, 1933, and Roosevelt signed it into law on June 16. The Public Works Administration (PWA) was immediately established to disburse the funds appropriated by the act. The District of Columbia received a $ 1.9 million grant for road and bridge construction, and

11025-566: The bridge. Additionally, three agencies had design approval for the bridge. The first was the AMBC, which was building it. The second was the National Capital Parks Commission (NCPC), which had statutory authority to approve federal transportation construction in the city. The third was the United States Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), which had to approve any memorial design. Since the bridge

11172-565: The canal. At low tide, portions of the canal were almost dry. After the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad built Washington Branch into the city in 1835, competition from railroads left the canal economically unviable. Although the Washington City Canal remained in use after the coming of the railroad, by 1855, it had filled with silt and debris to the point where it was no longer functional. It remained in this condition throughout

11319-408: The cemetery grounds into burial space in 2006 and 2007 to allow an additional 26,000 graves and 5,000 inurnments . The Millennium Project expanded the cemetery's physical boundaries for the first time since the 1960s, and was the largest expansion of burial space at the site since the U.S. Civil War. Several environmental and historical preservation groups criticized Metzler's plans, as did the NPS and

11466-707: The cemetery's management controversy began to end, the Army appointed Patrick K. Hallinan the acting superintendent of the cemetery in June 2010. He was promoted permanently to the position in October 2010. Hallinan had previously worked for the Office of Field Programs in the National Cemetery Administration, an agency of the United States Department of Veterans' Affairs . In that capacity, Hallinan had oversight of 131 national cemeteries, national cemetery policy, procedures, and operations. Hallinan

11613-557: The city began widening the entire roadway to 80 feet (24 m). In September 1933, the city received the first disbursement of revenue from the federal gasoline tax . This tax was imposed in the Revenue Act of June 1932. The city used $ 30,494 in PWA grant money and $ 45,741 in federal gas tax revenue to widen Constitution Avenue to the full width between North Capitol Street and 2d Street NW. This project, which occurred in conjunction with

11760-442: The city said on July 8 it would use a portion of these funds to finish Constitution Avenue. Construction on the $ 200,000 project was scheduled to begin at the end of August 1933 and employ 150 men. Part of the PWA grant included funds to complete John Marshall Park at the intersection of 4th Street NW and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Along with the park's construction, the city finally linked the two ends of Constitution Avenue by turning

11907-450: The city, into the canal's southern leg. The Washington Canal Company was incorporated in 1802, and after several false starts, substantial work began in 1810. The Washington City Canal began operation in 1815. The canal suffered from maintenance problems and economic competition almost immediately. Traffic on the canal was adversely affected by tidal forces, which the builders had not accounted for, which deposited large amounts of sediment in

12054-604: The clearance of Upper Senate Park, began in late September 1933. City officials also asked the CFA to approve the widening of Constitution Avenue to the full width between Virginia Avenue NW and the Potomac River. The CFA quickly approved the project. Paving of the fully widened street began in October 1933 and continued in November. In December, the avenue neared completion with the installation of traffic lights between 6th and 15th Streets NW. The western terminus of Constitution Avenue

12201-598: The early 1800s as a collection of market stalls immediately north of the Washington City Canal and the Mall, the Center Market (No. 19 on the map), which Adolf Cluss also designed, opened in 1872 soon after the canal closed. Located on the north side of Constitution Avenue NW, the National Archives now occupies the Market's site. During that period, railroad tracks crossed the Mall on 6th Street, west of

12348-572: The east and the Washington Monument to the west and is lined to the north and south by several museums and federal office buildings. The term National Mall may also include areas that are also officially part of neighboring West Potomac Park to the south and west and Constitution Gardens to the north, extending to the Lincoln Memorial on the west and Jefferson Memorial to the south. The National Mall proper contains

12495-545: The end of June 1930. The city proposed a budget to Congress in May 1930 that included funds to widen B Street NW between 14th and 17th Streets NW. The federal government should pay for 40 percent of the cost of this three-block widening, the city said. When this legislation did not pass during the second session of the 71st Congress, the city proposed in December 1930 a similar funding formula but asked to widen B Street from 14th Street NW to Virginia Avenue. This time, Congress approved

12642-463: The estate and receiving schooling and occupational training, both during the Civil War and after its end. In May 1864, the Union Army suffered large fatalities in the Battle of the Wilderness . Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs ordered a review of eligible sites for the establishment of a large and new national military cemetery. Within weeks, his staff reported that Arlington Estate

12789-590: The evaluation of environmental impacts....., no significant impacts would be expected from the Proposed Action; therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement will not be prepared and a Finding of No Significant Impact will be prepared and signed." In January 2013, the county manager of Arlington County, Virginia, and the executive director of the Army National Military Cemeteries (consisting of Arlington National Cemetery and

12936-618: The federal government constructed a number of temporary buildings (tempos) on the Mall, disrupting the area's planned layout. Most of these buildings were in two clusters: one near the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and the other on the National Mall (proper) in the vicinity of 4th through 7th Streets NW and SW. The United States entered World War I in April 1917. By 1918, a row of tempos designated from north to south as Buildings A, B, and C had stretched across

13083-607: The first national Memorial Day ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery. In October 1991, John C. Metzler Jr. , Arlington Cemetery's superintendent, implemented a $ 1.4 million plan to clear a former 13-acre (5.3 ha) parking lot to create additional space that would accommodate approximately 9,000 additional grave sites. In 1992, the Worcester Wreath company in Harrington, Maine , had

13230-513: The following landmarks , museums and other features (including opening year): Not marked on the above image: With the exception of the National Gallery of Art , all of the museums on the National Mall proper are part of the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian Gardens maintains a number of gardens and landscapes near its museums. These include: Features east of the National Mall proper include: Not included in

13377-790: The following year, on June 1, 1862, Lee was appointed commander of the Army of Northern Virginia , the Confederate Army's primary military force. When the Civil War commenced, American military personnel who died in battle near Washington, D.C. , were buried at the United States Soldiers' Cemetery in Washington, D.C., or Alexandria Cemetery in Alexandria, Virginia . By late 1863, however, both cemeteries were nearly full. On May 3, 1861, General Winfield Scott ordered Brigadier General Irvin McDowell to clear all troops not loyal to

13524-748: The former World War I tempos, along the south side of Constitution Avenue between 12th and 14th Streets NW, on the west side of the Washington Monument grounds, along the entire length of the south side of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and between the Reflecting Pool and the Main Navy and Munition buildings on the Pool's north side. Numbers identified new buildings built on the Monument grounds, while letters identified

13671-483: The grandeur of the planned avenue. The commission agreed that B Street should be extended eastward at least to 3rd Street NW and that building setbacks should be a minimum of 55 feet (17 m) along the avenue. But the width of the avenue remained in dispute. Tentatively, the NCPC approved a width of 80 feet (24 m) between Pennsylvania Avenue NW and Virginia Avenue NW, and 72 feet (22 m) from Virginia Avenue NW to

13818-509: The green space bounded on the east by 3rd Street, on the west by 14th Street, on the north by Jefferson Drive, NW, and on the south by Madison Drive, SW. A Central Intelligence Agency map shows the Mall as occupying the space between the Lincoln Memorial and the United States Capitol. In 2011, the 112th United States Congress enacted the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2012, which transferred to

13965-421: The grounds, and then left for her sister's estate at Ravensworth in present-day Fairfax County, Virginia . Some of the personal property she buried included family portraits that were stolen by Union soldiers. McDowell occupied Arlington without opposition on May 24. On July 16, 1862, the U.S. Congress passed legislation authorizing the U.S. federal government to purchase land for national cemeteries for

14112-402: The impending construction of Federal Triangle, worried that a traffic circle would not only fail to accommodate the expected increase in traffic volume but also impair the dignity of the memorial as large numbers of fast-moving automobiles whizzed around it. CFA members disagreed. For example, CFA member James Leal Greenleaf argued that the traffic issue was a red herring; future new bridges over

14259-441: The internet. Thousands of people called Worcester Wreath Company, wanting to replicate the wreath-laying service at their own veteran cemeteries. In 2014, volunteers were able to place wreaths in all sections of the cemetery for the first time. On February 22, 1995, officials of the U.S. Department of Interior and the U.S. Department of the Army signed an agreement to transfer from Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, to

14406-473: The investigation commenced. In March 2011, as a result of the problems discovered, Kathryn Condon, the recently appointed executive director of the Army National Military Cemeteries, announced that the cemetery's staff had been increased from 102 to 159. She added that the cemetery was also acquiring additional equipment because, "They didn't have the proper equipment to do the job really to the standard they needed to do." The mismanagement controversy included

14553-524: The land near the White House and along Pennsylvania Avenue NW by nearly 6 feet (1.8 m) to form a kind of levee . This "reclaimed land" — which today includes West Potomac Park , East Potomac Park , the Tidal Basin — was largely complete by 1890 and designated Potomac Park by Congress in 1897. Congress first appropriated money for the beautification of the reclaimed land in 1902, which led to

14700-605: The legislation required the Secretary of the Interior to manage the remainder of Section 29 "in perpetuity to provide a natural setting and visual buffer for Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial." In 2007, Metzler implemented the Millennium Project, a $ 35 million expansion plan to begin utilizing the Arlington woodland, Fort Myer, and Navy Annex land. The project also included converting 40 acres (16 ha) of unused space and 4 acres (16,000 m ) of maintenance property on

14847-457: The legislation. Widening of what was now called Constitution Avenue NW began at the end of February 1931, with the city finalizing its engineering plans. The city commissioners ordered the $ 168,500 widening project to begin on May 13, 1931. A small memorial column, marking the point at which water reached inland during the terrible 1889 Potomac River flood, was moved because of the street widening. The CFA, meanwhile, began to study ways to harmonize

14994-900: The manager of Arlington House. On June 9, 2010, United States Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh reprimanded the cemetery's superintendent, John C. Metzler, Jr., and his deputy, Thurman Higgenbotham, after a DOD inspector general 's report revealed that cemetery officials had placed the wrong headstones on tombs, buried coffins in shallow graves, and buried bodies on top of one another. Metzler, who had already announced his intention to retire on July 2, 2010, admitted some mistakes had been made but denied allegations of widespread or serious mismanagement. The investigation also found that cemetery employees were burdened in their day-to-day work by "dysfunctional management, lack of established policy and procedures, and an overall unhealthy organizational climate." Both Metzler and Higgenbotham retired soon after

15141-504: The national capital of Washington, D.C. highly vulnerable to Confederate attack and occupation, President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers from around the Union to help defend it. Five days after Lincoln's call for 75,000 volunteers to defend the national capital, on April 20, Robert E. Lee , embracing the cause of Virginia's separation from the Union , resigned his U.S. Army commission to lead Virginia's separatist armed forces;

15288-622: The new land, which became West Potomac Park , expanded the Mall southward and westward (see 1893 map above). In 1902, the McMillan Commission 's plan, which was partially inspired by the City Beautiful Movement and which purportedly extended Pierre L'Enfant 's plan, called for a radical redesign of the Mall that would replace its greenhouses, gardens, trees, and commercial/industrial facilities with an open space. The plan differed from L'Enfant's by replacing

15435-484: The north side of B Street SW to the east of "The Castle". Designed in 1876 by Adolf Cluss and his associates, the building is the second oldest still standing on the National Mall (proper). In 1887, the Army Medical Museum and Library , which Adolf Cluss designed in 1885, opened on the Mall at northwest corner of B Street SW and 7th Street SW. The Smithsonian Institution's Hirshhorn Museum now occupies

15582-426: The north side of the avenue. On its south side, Constitution Avenue NW is bordered by several monuments and museums. These include the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial , Constitution Gardens , and the grounds of the Washington Monument . The relocated U.S. Capitol Gatehouses and Gateposts are at Constitution Avenue NW and 15th Street NW. East of the grounds of the Washington Monument are several museums:

15729-410: The northern and eastern boundaries of the Mall. Being shallow and often obstructed by silt , the canal served only a limited role and became an open sewer that poured sediment and waste into the Potomac River's flats and shipping channel. The portion of the canal that traveled near the Mall was covered over in 1871 for sanitary reasons. Some consider a lockkeeper's house constructed in 1837 near

15876-638: The opposite side of the path or street from the elms. In subsequent years, the vision of the McMillan plan was generally followed with the planting of American elms and the layout of four boulevards down the Mall, two on either side of a wide lawn . In accordance with a plan that it completed in 1976, the NPS converted the two innermost boulevards (Washington Drive NW and Adams Drive SW) into gravel walking paths. The two outermost boulevards (Madison Drive NW and Jefferson Drive SW)) remain paved and open to vehicular traffic. During World Wars I and II ,

16023-496: The other attractions in the Washington Metropolitan Area , the National Mall makes the nation's capital city one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. It has several other uses in addition to serving as a tourist focal point. The National Mall's status as a vast, open expanse at the heart of the capital makes it an attractive site for protests and rallies of all types. One notable example

16170-408: The park. In February 1929, the D.C. Department of Roads and Highways finalized its engineering plans to widen B Street NW from 26th Street NW to Pennsylvania Avenue NW. But these plans needed approval of the NCPC as well as funding from Congress. The NCPC discussed the street widening at its March 9 meeting. It made a site visit along the roadway to see how different widths would affect the vista and

16317-421: The planting of sod, bushes, and trees; grading and paving of sidewalks, bridle paths, and driveways; and the installation of water, drainage, and sewage pipes. B Street NW extended through the newly created West Potomac Park between Virginia Avenue NW and 23rd Street NW. However, since this area was considered parkland, the street narrowed to just 40-foot (12 m) in width. On March 4, 1913, Congress created

16464-504: The preferred alternative (Alternative 1) would transfer to the cemetery approximately 9.6 acres (3.9 ha), comprising most of the Interment Zone and the northern tip of the Preservation Zone. Another alternative (Alternative 3) would transfer to the cemetery the 12 acres (4.9 ha) Interment Zone, while keeping the 12.5 acres (5.1 ha) Preservation Zone under NPS jurisdiction. The EA concluded: "Public Law 104-201 directed

16611-651: The presidential inauguration of Donald Trump in 2017 (see: Inauguration of Donald Trump crowd size ). Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System , one of two maintained by the United States Army . Over 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia . Arlington National Cemetery

16758-527: The project would not have a significant adverse impact on the Commonwealth's forest resources. The revised EA did not change the preferred alternative (Alternative E) or the Army's plans to prepare and sign the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) that the draft EA had described. On March 26, 2013, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 ( Public Law 113–6) appropriated to

16905-559: The property for use as part of the cemetery, while requiring the Secretary of the Army to incorporate the Annex property into the cemetery. On December 28, 2001, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 (Public Law 107-107) repealed the "obsolete" part of Public Law 104-201 that had authorized the transfer of portions of Section 29 to the Secretary of the Army. The new legislation required

17052-444: The purpose of burying military dead, and placed the U.S. Army Quartermaster General in charge of this program. Beginning in 1863, the federal government used the southern portion of the land now occupied by the cemetery as a settlement for freed slaves, giving the land the name "Freedman's Village". The government constructed rental houses that 1,100 to 3,000 freed slaves eventually occupied while farming 1,100 acres (450 ha) of

17199-501: The purposes of the National Mall are to: In his 1791 plan for the future city of Washington, D.C. , Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant envisioned a garden-lined "grand avenue" approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) in length and 400 feet (120 m) wide, in an area that would lie between the Congress House (now the United States Capitol ) and an equestrian statue of George Washington . The statue would be placed directly south of

17346-530: The remainder. The government also built dormitories, residence halls and facilities for dining and recreation south of the eastern half of the Mall and within the part of West Potomac Park that lay south of the Mall's western half. The government progressively demolished all of the World War II tempos beginning in 1964. After the government removed the Main Navy and Munitions buildings in 1970, much of their former sites became Constitution Gardens , which

17493-474: The shutdown's first day, the memorial's barricades were removed. The NPS subsequently announced that the veterans had a legal right to be in the memorial and would not be barred in the future. During the shutdown's second week, the NPS permitted an immigration rally and concert to take place on the Mall. On December 8, 2016, the NPS listed on the National Register of Historic Places an increase in

17640-551: The site of the building, which was demolished in 1968. Meanwhile, in order to clean up the Potomac Flats and to make the Potomac River more navigable, in 1882 Congress authorized the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the river. The Corps used the sediment removed from the shipping channel to fill in the flats. The work started in 1882 and continued until 1911, creating the Tidal Basin and 628 new acres of land. Part of

17787-405: The south curb south by 20 feet (6.1 m) and the north curb north by 12 feet (3.7 m). However, once the street went past Virginia Avenue NW, the NCPC determined that the north curb should not be moved. In September 1926, the NCPC approved widening B Street to 80 feet (24 m) between 6th and 15th Streets NW (by moving the south curb south). This decision was reaffirmed by a joint meeting of

17934-457: The south, and by 12th and 14th Streets respectively on the east and west, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture administers and which contains the Jamie L. Whitten Building (U.S. Department of Agriculture Administration Building) . The 2012–2016 National Park Service index describes the National Mall as being a landscaped park that extends from the Capitol to the Washington Monument, defined as

18081-664: The southwest border of the Navy Annex site for a new Southgate Road. In exchange, the Department of Defense would give the Navy Annex parking lot to the county. The Army would also transfer land west of South Joyce Street to Columbia Pike to Arlington County. Additionally, the Commonwealth of Virginia would convey to the cemetery roughly the northern half of the Virginia Department of Transportation land bounded by South Joyce Street, Columbia Pike, and South Washington Boulevard . The cloverleaf interchange between Columbia Pike and S. Washington Blvd. would be eliminated, and

18228-469: The street Constitution Avenue. This proposal met with strong approval from the city. Although the House initially rejected the name, the legislation passed both the House and Senate in the second session of the 71st United States Congress . President Herbert Hoover signed the legislation into law on February 25, 1931. The Corps of Engineers realized in the spring of 1930 that no provision had been made for

18375-514: The tendered payment. The Washington Chronicle described the Freedmen's Village at Arlington in an article published in September 1864 and recorded at that time, "This cemetery is at present divided into the upper yard and the lower yard. The upper yard contains fourteen hundred graves, and the lower twelve hundred. These graves are marked with wooden slabs, with the exception of one marble slab in

18522-472: The terminus of B Street. Because this was merely a matter of adding a small traffic circle on the Potomac shoreline and creating a small terrace there, cost-savings elsewhere could provide the funding for the terminus without requiring additional authorization or appropriation from Congress. The Corps contracted North Carolina Granite Co. to provide granite for this terrace. Nearly all this granite had arrived by

18669-604: The treatment of Constitution Avenue NW, the Lincoln Memorial Grounds, and the Arlington Memorial Bridge. By March 1932, additional funding to complete the widening of Constitution Avenue NW and extend it through Senate Park was still needed. But the House of Representatives declined to approve funding in April 1932. Funding for this part of the project did not come through until December 1932, when Congress ordered $ 55,200 transferred from

18816-475: The upper and one in the lower yard. As we passed by it, a cortege of five ambulances, containing nine coffins, moved by. Some of the coffins were draped with our colors. The cemetery is as yet enclosed with a wooden fence." In 1866, The Old Bell Church , led by Rev. Robert S. Laws , was founded. After Freedman's Village became part of a military reservation, the government asked the villagers to leave. In 1887, however, some still remained, and John A. Commerford,

18963-493: The war between the two nations), the government demolished Buildings A and B. The remaining tempos held offices of several agencies belonging to the Agriculture, Commerce , Treasury and War Departments for a number of years after the war ended. The government then slowly dismantled most of the tempos that had remained within the Mall (proper), removing the power plant and nearby buildings by 1936. Among those removed

19110-465: The western end of the Washington City Canal for an eastward extension of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal to be the oldest building still standing on the National Mall. The structure, which is located near the southwestern corner of 17th Street NW and Constitution Avenue NW, is west of the National Mall (proper). The Smithsonian Institution Building ("The Castle"), constructed from 1847 to 1855,

19257-527: The western section slightly northward and the eastern section slightly southward. The one-block section of Pennsylvania Avenue NW between 4th and 5th Streets was renamed Constitution Avenue (leaving Pennsylvania Avenue no longer contiguous). To control these two intersections, 10 traffic signals (some of the first to be installed in downtown D.C.) were placed at these intersections. The intersection opened on August 17, 1933. The lack of uniform width along Constitution Avenue proved problematic. With little fanfare,

19404-484: The withdrawal of the proposal. However, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 (Public Law 106–65), which was enacted into law during October 1999, subsequently required the Secretary of Defense to transfer administrative jurisdiction of the 36 acres (15 ha) Navy Annex property to the Secretary of the Army. The Act required the Secretary of Defense to demolish the Annex's buildings and prepare

19551-546: The woodland notes that, while visiting Arlington House in 1825, Marquis de Lafayette , the French volunteer to the Continental Army who ultimately became one of George Washington 's long-standing friends, warned Mary Lee Fitzhugh Custis , wife of George Washington Parke Custis , "Cherish these forest trees around your mansion. Recollect how much easier it is to cut a tree than to make one grow." The marker notes that

19698-520: Was Building C, which the government demolished between 1933 and 1936. By 1937, the government had removed all of the World War I tempos that had been within the National Mall (proper) except for Building E, thus largely restoring the Mall's central vista. However, another World War I tempo, which the government constructed south of the Mall in 1919 between 14th Street SW and the Tidal Basin as

19845-418: Was completed. Custis initially intended the house to serve as a home and memorial to George Washington , his foster father, but Washington died on December 14, 1799. Custis' will granted a life inheritance of the house to his wife, allowing her to live at and run Arlington House for the rest of her life but prohibiting her from selling any portion of it. Following his wife's death, Arlington House, then known as

19992-517: Was considered a memorial, it also had to pass CFA muster. In April 1924, the Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission proposed extending B Street to the U.S. Capitol as part of the plan to turn the street into a major thoroughfare. The NCPC inspected B Street in June 1926, and in August, made a preliminary determination that the street should be widened to 72 feet (22 m) between the Potomac River and Virginia Avenue NW. This would be accomplished by moving

20139-572: Was constructed on top of it. Work began in October 1871 and was completed in December 1873. After terrible flooding inundated much of downtown Washington, D.C., in 1881, Congress ordered the United States Army Corps of Engineers to dredge a deep channel in the Potomac to lessen the chance of flooding. Congress also ordered that the dredged material be used to fill in what remained of the Tiber Creek estuary and build up much of

20286-470: Was dedicated in 1976. The planting of American elm trees ( Ulmus americana ) on the National Mall following the McMillan Plan started in the 1930s between 3rd and 14th Streets at the same time that Dutch Elm Disease (DED) began to appear in the United States. Concern was expressed about the impact that DED could have on these trees. DED first appeared on the Mall during the 1950s and reached

20433-560: Was donated to the Smithsonian Institution by the Sinclair Oil Corporation . The statue, which Louis Paul Jonas created for Sinclair's DinoLand pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair , was named after a dinosaur in Oliver Butterworth 's 1956 children's book, The Enormous Egg , and the 1968 televised movie adaptation in which the statue appeared. In 2003, the 108th United States Congress enacted

20580-629: Was established on May 13, 1864, during the American Civil War after Arlington Estate, the land on which the cemetery was built, was confiscated by the U.S. federal government from the private ownership of Confederate States Army General Robert E. Lee 's family following a tax dispute over the property. The cemetery is managed by the U.S. Department of the Army . As of 2024, it conducts approximately 27 to 30 funerals each weekday and between six and eight services on Saturday. In April 2014, Arlington National Cemetery Historic District, including Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington House , Memorial Drive,

20727-467: Was how to turn B Street NW into a ceremonial gateway. The second was how to link B Street NW with the bridge. This second problem was significant because the Lincoln Memorial stood at the northeastern terminus of the proposed bridge. Third, the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway was being designed to terminate at the Lincoln Memorial as well. The parkway would also interact with the B Street approaches to

20874-473: Was intended to implement conversion into burial space of the 17 acres (6.9 ha) of Fort Myer grounds and 10 acres (4.0 ha) of Section 29 woodland. The draft described seven alternatives. The preferred alternative (Alternative E) called for the removal of about one-half of the 1,700 trees with a diameter of 6 inches (15 cm) or greater on the site. About 640 of the trees were within a 135-year-old portion of Arlington Woods. The draft concluded, "Based on

21021-405: Was less interested in obtaining the property than in receiving cash compensation for it. On March 3, 1883, Custis Lee sold it back to the U.S. government for $ 150,000 (equivalent to $ 4,161,818 in 2023) at a signing ceremony with then Secretary of War Robert Todd Lincoln . The land then became a U.S. military reservation. In 1900, the last remaining residents of the village departed after

21168-451: Was promoted to executive director of the Army National Military Cemeteries upon the retirement of Kathryn Condon in spring 2014. In May 2014, Hallinan stepped down and was replaced by Jack E. Lechner, Jr. as superintendent of the cemetery. Lechner had been a funeral director for 10 years in the private sector before joining the U.S. Army. He rose to the rank of colonel, and retired in November 2011 after having spent 2008 to 2010 as chief of

21315-760: Was the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom , a political rally during the Civil Rights Movement , at which Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his speech " I Have a Dream ". The largest officially recorded rally was the Vietnam War Moratorium Rally on October 15, 1969. However, in 1995, the NPS issued a crowd estimate for the Million Man March with which an organizer of the event, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan , disagreed. The next year,

21462-491: Was the most suitable property in the area. The property was located at a relatively high elevation and was typically free from floods capable of unearthing graves, and it was aesthetically pleasing. An additional factor in its selection was likely that it was the residence of Robert E. Lee, a leader in the Confederate States Army, and denying Lee use of his home during and following the war was advantageous to

21609-557: Was unimpeded by any water obstacles, ran straight to the Eastern Branch River, now known as the Anacostia River . Along its entire length, B Street was 60 feet (18 m) wide. L'Enfant proposed turning Tiber Creek into a canal. His plan included cutting a new canal south across the western side of the United States Capitol grounds and converting James Creek , which ran from the Capitol south-southwest through

#838161