The Capitol Grounds--page 1 of two

In 1874 Congress commissioned Olmsted, the greatest American landscape architect of that period, to design a landscape plan for the grounds of the capitol. He created a lawn on the west where a central entrance had been and added two approaches to the Capitol, connected to Pennsylvania and Maryland Avenues. Thousands of plants and trees were set out according to "picturesque" principles. The West Terrace
	The Reflecting Pool with the Grant Memorial in the distance The pool was designed in 1976 by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. The huge Grant Memorial (a 250 foot sculptural grouping) was designed by Henry M. Schrady.
West Terrace retaining walls and entrance posts
		According to Pamela Scott and Antoinette J. Lee, "architectural features of the terrace, entrance gate posts, and retaining walls were designed by the English architect Thomas Wisedell under Olmsted's supervision and constructed between 1886 and 1892" (119).

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Page created by Mary Ann Sullivan