X 



A PARK FOR THE NATIONAL CAPITAL 



In 1900 Congress passed an act providing for 

 the preparation of plans for the creation of an 

 extensive park, covering about three hundred and 

 fifty acres in the center of the city of Washington, 

 extending from the Capitol to the Washington 

 Monument and beyond to the Potomac. The 

 preparation of these plans was entrusted to 

 Samuel Parsons who submitted his report to 

 Colonel Theodore A. Bingham, Corps of Engi- 

 neers, in November, 1900.* 



The following extract from the report will give 

 an idea of the scope of the undertaking and the 

 general style of treatment proposed. 



In seeking to solve the problem of designing a 

 park in the heart of Washington, a park which 

 will be worthy not only of a great city, but of a 

 great national capital, it is highly important at 

 the very outset to discover and define the natural 

 limitations that grow out of the original structural 

 lines of the landscape and out of the demands both 

 of the residential and of the business interests 

 of the city. 



I think that these propositions will not be denied 

 by persons who have really considered the subject: 



* Fifty-sixth Congress, Second Session, Document No. 135. 



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