Frederick Law Olmsted and His Work 
The general scheme which Mr. Olmsted proposed 
was original and happy. A plan showing its main 
features is here reproduced. It provides for con¬ 
venience of approach by a natural and well devised 
system of drives and walks, so that the business of 
Congress and other departments of the National 
Government was well served. The principal drive¬ 
way is from the east and is 50 feet wide; the side 
drives are 25 feet wide. The main drive is render¬ 
ed stately by rows of tulip trees on either side. 
Upon the west, on account of the heavy grades, 
there are no driveways, but the walks are of great 
width, especially those that prolong the lines of 
Pennsylvania and Maryland Avenues and lead di¬ 
rectly to the building. These broad and im¬ 
pressive paths or sidewalks are lined with plane 
trees 30 feet apart in the row and 55 feet between 
rows. 
To support the building and enhance its impres¬ 
sion of stability and grandeur—the most important 
artistic problem of the design—Mr. Olmsted pro¬ 
posed a great terrace on the west side, and a plaza 
of appropriate area on the east side. The proposal 
of the terrace is but another illustration of Mr. 
Olmsted’s genius, and it is more striking in that 
his tasks had hitherto been mainly in informal de¬ 
sign. His large ability is thus unmistakably illus¬ 
trated. He saw always what was fit; and what he 
believed in he advocated. It appears that no such 
terrace as he proposed had ever been constructed 
in this country before and his recommendation met 
only with firm and repeated opposition. In 1881, 
seven years after his appointment, we find him still 
A NEARER VIEW OF THE WESTERN STEPS 
4 
THE TERRACES FROM THE SOUTHWEST 
strongly combatting this opposition. It then took 
the ground that the new construction would ob¬ 
scure the main walls of the building. To demon¬ 
strate that this objection was unsound poles with 
cross bars were set up to show what the proposed 
eff ect would be. As a matter of fact, amply demon¬ 
strated by the construction of the terraces, the main 
walls of the Capitol were not obscured; on the con¬ 
trary the building was given a broader base and 
made to appear to rest naturally and firmly upon 
the ground. At last Mr. Olmsted overcame the 
opposition and active work on the terraces was be¬ 
gun in 1883; the stone construction was complete 
in 1890. The effect was (1) to close harmoniously 
the gap between the Capitol and the grounds and 
realize the merits of both, and (2) to add to the 
apparent height of the building and give it the ap¬ 
pearance of possessing a stable foundation. These 
terraces are appropriately large. On the north 
and south axis they measure 850 feet; on the east 
and west, 269 feet. They are 28 feet above the 
ground at the stairway, and 20 feet at the north 
and south corners. They were to be in tvyo parts, 
the division running midway between the building 
and the outer walls. The inner one is level with 
the foot of the steps coming from the portico; the 
outer one is four feet lower. The two levels are 
connected opposite the portico by flights of steps. 
Between them there is a channel or pit eight feet 
wide and four feet deep filled with soil. It was the 
intention to plant in this channel formal plants, an 
intention which unfortunately has never been car¬ 
ried out. The height of this terrace and its severe 
lines are relieved by heavy planting which almost 
completely surrounds it. 
The broad paved plaza on the east, 100 feet or 
more in width and the full length of the building, 
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