The Landscape Architect’s Guide to

Washington, D.C.

The National Mall & Memorial Parks

The Mall

Your Guide
Susan Spain, ASLA
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The Mall is the simple, symmetrical formal landscape creating a vista from the U.S. Capitol to the Washington Monument and beyond to the Lincoln Memorial. Flanked by rows of elm trees, it is characterized by rectangles of lawn in the center bordered and crossed by wide walks. North and south of the designed landscape are the museums of the Smithsonian Institution, National Gallery of Art, as well as the Department of Agriculture. This popular venue for national celebrations, First Amendment demonstrations, and other events sees more than 800 days of events every year – and the resulting wear and tear has been a great public concern.

Learn more about the history of The Mall.

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