Senate Parks

Initially designed in 1929 by William E. Parsons, of the Chicago firm of Bennett, Parsons and Frost, the grounds were planned with the clear purpose of providing a gracious, functional and formal link between the U.S. Capitol and Union Station. Parsons' plan was carefully considered with a spatial arrangement of landscape features creating a complementary setting with framed views, gracious and formal approaches and a landscape design that reinforced the monumentality of the Capitol and Union Station.

The grounds for the Senate Parks evolved from the initial construction in the 1930s, as amended by the design and construction of the Taft Memorial between 1957 and 1959 by Douglas W. Orr, the enhancement of plants and benches along paths added by Paul Pincus through 1989, and the modifications for security enhancements and supporting features related to the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center’s construction between 2000 and 2008.

For the past century, Parsons' scheme for the expansion of the U.S. Capitol Grounds represents an important comprehensive design for the historic constructed landscape, as well as a direct link to the 1901 plan for Washington developed by the McMillan Commission.

Today, the Senate Parks are significant for its association with extending the U.S. Capitol Grounds and shaping the city. The parks encompass 61.4 acres of grounds in Washington, D.C., that grew the U.S. Capitol Grounds across twelve squares extending northward from the U.S. Capitol to Union Station, bound by Louisiana Avenue to the west; First Street and Delaware Avenue to the east; Constitution Avenue to the south; and Massachusetts Avenue to the north.

This historic landscape retains important elements of its original design though it has been somewhat altered in the last one hundred years. It is a testament to the strength of the initial shaping of the landscape that many of the original character defining features remain intact and identifiable today.

Major Landscape Character Areas

Three landscape character areas divide the Senate Parks into distinct areas that express design elements and patterns of spatial organization. Within the urban boundaries of Senate Parks, the character of each area emerges based on the shaping of the land as civic parkland, with the character-defining features of land use, spatial organization, views and visual relationships, topography, vegetation, circulation, structures, monuments, furnishings and small-scale details.

Boundaries of the areas are delineated by vegetation or slopes or clearly defined by physical features such as a wall, path or street. Some of these features remain constant while others change over time. Together the features and character of each area define the overall character and sense of place of the Senate Parks landscape.

Senate Parks Gateway

The Senate Parks Gateway is the parkland adjacent to Union Station Plaza or Columbus Circle. The perimeter framing Columbus Circle contributes to a sense of enclosure to and makes it distinct and separate from the area beyond, which is divided into smaller sunlit turf areas bisected by walks that lead to perimeter walkways.

The pedestrian paths at the perimeter, supported by double row of oak trees, create a strong edge between the park-like squares and the adjacent public streets. Visitors can stroll beneath the shady tree canopy separated from traffic.

Upper and Lower Senate Parks

Upper and Lower Senate Parks is a formal organizing element about North Capital Street and is divided into nine spaces, roughly diagramed as a keystone overlaid with a cross creating four corner quadrants with a central element at the center of the cross.

The central fountain is a strong visual focus on the upper terrace. There are four approaches to this fountain that make up a cross form. Three of the approaches are on the upper terrace. The approach on the lower terrace contains a reflecting pool. Each of the approaches has formal single or double paved paths to reach the central fountain. The grade change between the upper and lower terraces takes the form of two monumental flights of steps on either end of a triple cascading fountain and water basin. This basin drains into the reflecting pool.

The four quadrants each have a different character to them than the approaches and the terraces. The two southern quadrants are framed by an interior double tree row creating a formal bosque on each side of the central approach. The bosque both frames the space to the quadrant and frames the view to the U.S. Capitol further to the south. The two quadrants to the north that flank the lower terrace and reflecting pool contain sunlight lawns bisected by diagonal walks with informal massing of trees and shrubs at their south end to visually screen the location where streetcars once operated.

The Taft Memorial

The Taft Memorial area is a vestigial space at the extreme southwest corner of the Senate Parks. The perimeter walkways here are exposed granite aggregate concrete walks that are adjacent to single or double rows of oak trees that creates a strong edge between the park-like square and the adjacent public streets. The paths flanked by the tree rows also provide smaller scale spaces in which visitors can stroll beneath the shady tree canopy and are separated from the street traffic.