Location | Northwest Washington, D.C., United States |
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Freedom Plaza, originally known as Western Plaza, is an open plaza in Northwest Washington, D.C., United States, located near 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, adjacent to Pershing Park. The plaza features an inlay that partially depicts Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant's plan for the City of Washington. The National Park Service administers the Plaza as part of its Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site and coordinates the Plaza's activities. [1]
The John A. Wilson Building, the seat of the District of Columbia government, faces the plaza, as does the historic National Theatre, which has been visited by every U.S. president since it opened in 1835. [2] [3] Three large hotels are to the north and west. The Old Post Office building, which houses the Waldorf Astoria Washington D.C., is to the southeast. [4]
The Plaza is a modification of an original design by architect Robert Venturi that the United States Commission of Fine Arts approved. [2] [3] [5] [6] [7] The Plaza, which is composed mostly of stone, is inlaid with a partial depiction of Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant's plan for the City of Washington. [5] Most of the plaza is raised above street level. [5] The eastern end of the plaza contains an equestrian statue of Kazimierz Pułaski that had been installed at its site in 1910 (see: General Casimer Pulaski statue). [5]
The surface of the raised portion of the Plaza, consisting of dark and light marble, delineates L’Enfant's plan. [5] Brass outlines mark the sites of the White House and the Capitol. [5] Quotes about the city from its visitors and residents are carved into the marble surface. [5] Granite retaining walls, marked at intervals by planted urns, edge the plaza. [5] A granite-walled fountain flows in the western portion of the plaza. [5]
Flagpoles flying flags of the District of Columbia and the United States rise from the plaza opposite the entrance of the District Building. [5] The Plaza also contains a metallic plaque containing the Great Seal of the United States, [8] followed by an inscription describing the history and usage of the seal (See: Freedom Plaza Plaque). The Plaza is one block south of the "Freedom Plaza" historical marker at stop number W.7 of the Civil War to Civil Rights Downtown Heritage Trail at 13th and E Streets, NW. [2] [3]
The Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation constructed "Western Plaza", which was dedicated on November 1, 1980 (see: History of Pennsylvania Avenue). [5] The plaza was renamed in 1988 to "Freedom Plaza" in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., who worked on his "I Have a Dream" speech in the nearby Willard Hotel. [2] [5] [6] During that year, a time capsule containing a Bible, a robe, and other King relics was planted at the site. [5] [9] The capsule will be reopened in 2088. [9]
Freedom Plaza is a popular place for political protests and civic events. [10] [11] In 2011, the Plaza was one of the sites of an "Occupy DC" protest. [12] On July 17, 2020, the Plaza hosted two living statues that mocked President Donald Trump. The Trump Statue Initiative installed the live display, which a violinist accompanied, around 9:30 a.m. The display was gone by the afternoon. [13]
During the morning of November 14, 2020, thousands of President Trump's supporters gathered in and around Freedom Plaza for a series of demonstrations associated with the "Million MAGA March". Various groups including Women for America First and March for Trump organized the event to protest the results of the November 3 presidential election. [14] Counter-protesters later confronted the demonstrators, leading to violence during the evening. [15] A December 12 pro-Trump demonstration in and near the Plaza later also resulted in nighttime counter-protests, violence and arrests. [16]
The Plaza is a popular location for skateboarding, although the illegal sport damages stonework, walls, steps, and sculpture while presenting a persistent law enforcement and management challenge. Popular websites advertise Freedom Plaza's attractiveness for the activity. [17] Further, vandals have removed "No Skateboarding" signs. [17]
The Plaza is one of the settings in Dan Brown's 2009 novel The Lost Symbol . [18]
Freedom Plaza was used as a venue during the January 13th, 2024 March on Washington for Gaza. According to protest organizers, around 400,000 protesters were in the vicinity of the plaza. [19]
The American Planning Association noted in 2014 that Freedom Plaza is a popular location for political protests and other events. [10] However, a reporter for the Washington Business Journal stated "but that does not mean the concrete expanse across from the John A. Wilson Building was well planned". [10] Many observers consider the site a "failure." [20]
Skateboarding is an action sport that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation. Originating in the United States, skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2009 report found that the skateboarding market is worth an estimated $4.8 billion in annual revenue, with 11.08 million active skateboarders in the world. In 2016, it was announced that skateboarding would be represented at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, for both male and female teams.
The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the United States Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government. It is located on Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Although no longer at the geographic center of the federal district, the Capitol forms the origin point for the street-numbering system of the district as well as its four quadrants.
The National Mall is a landscaped park near the downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institution, art galleries, cultural institutions, and various memorials, sculptures, and statues. It is administered by the National Park Service (NPS) of the United States Department of the Interior as part of the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit of the National Park System. The park receives approximately 24 million visitors each year.
Pierre "Peter" Charles L'Enfant was an American-French military engineer who in 1791 designed the basic plan for Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. His work is known today as the L'Enfant Plan. He also inspired the street plan for Detroit, Michigan.
L'Enfant Plaza is a complex of four commercial buildings grouped around a large plaza in the Southwest section of Washington, D.C., United States. Immediately below the plaza and the buildings is La Promenade shopping mall.
The Washington meridians are four meridians that were used as prime meridians in the United States which pass through Washington, D.C. The four that have been specified are:
The history of Washington, D.C., is tied to its role as the capital of the United States. The site of the District of Columbia along the Potomac River was first selected by President George Washington. The city came under attack during the War of 1812 in an episode known as the Burning of Washington. Upon the government's return to the capital, it had to manage the reconstruction of numerous public buildings, including the White House and the United States Capitol. The McMillan Plan of 1901 helped restore and beautify the downtown core area, including establishing the National Mall, along with numerous monuments and museums.
16th Street Northwest, briefly known as the Avenue of the Presidents, is a prominent north-south boulevard in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. The street was laid out as part of the 1791 L'Enfant Plan, which served as the original blueprint for the city. The street begins just north of the White House, across from Lafayette Square in the President's Park, and continues north along the Washington meridian until Blair Circle.
Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site is a National Historic Site in the city of Washington, D.C. Established on September 30, 1965, the site is roughly bounded by Constitution Avenue, 15th Street NW, F Street NW, and 3rd Street NW. The historic district includes a number of culturally, aesthetically, and historically significant structures and places, including Pennsylvania Avenue NW from the White House to the United States Capitol, the Treasury Building, Freedom Plaza, Federal Triangle, Ford's Theatre, the Old Patent Office Building, the Old Pension Office Building, which now houses the National Building Museum, Judiciary Square, and the Peace Monument.
Jefferson Pier, Jefferson Stone, or the Jefferson Pier Stone, in Washington, D.C., marks the second prime meridian of the United States even though it was never officially recognized, either by presidential proclamation or by a resolution or act of Congress.
The streets and highways of Washington, D.C., form the core of the surface transportation infrastructure in Washington, D.C., the federal capital of the United States. Given that it is a planned city, the city's streets follow a distinctive layout and addressing scheme. There are 1,500 miles (2,400 km) of public roads in the city, of which 1,392 miles (2,240 km) are owned and maintained by city government.
Downtown is the central business district of Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. It is the third largest central business district in the United States. The "Traditional Downtown" has been defined as an area roughly between Union Station in the east and 16th Street NW in the west, and between the National Mall on the south and Massachusetts Avenue on the north, including Penn Quarter. However, nowadays, Downtown D.C. usually refers to a larger area, as the DC Office of Planning states:
…most residents, workers, and visitors think of Downtown in a broader sense — including areas as far north as Dupont Circle, as far west as Foggy Bottom, and as far east as Capitol Hill. Only about half of the central city workforce is located within the city’s traditional Downtown.
Lafayette Square is a seven-acre public park located within President's Park in Washington, D.C., directly north of the White House on H Street, bounded by Jackson Place on the west, Madison Place on the east and Pennsylvania Avenue on the south. It is named for the Marquis de Lafayette, a French aristocrat and hero of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and includes several statues of revolutionary heroes from Europe, including Lafayette, and at its center a famous statue of early 19th century U.S. president and general Andrew Jackson on horseback with both of the horse's front hooves raised.
Lieutenant General George Washington is an 1860 equestrian statue of George Washington, at Washington Circle, at the edge of the George Washington University's campus, in Washington, D.C. The statue was sculpted by Clark Mills, who also created the equestrian statue of Andrew Jackson in front of the White House. The traffic circle where the statue is located was one of the original city designs by Pierre Charles L'Enfant. The statue and surrounding park are in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood at the intersection of 23rd Street, New Hampshire Avenue, and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. The K Street NW underpass runs beneath the circle.
The outdoor statue of Benjamin Franklin in Washington, D.C., is located near the intersection of 12th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, in front of the Old Post Office. The statue was a gift from Stilson Hutchins, founder of The Washington Post, who wanted to display his and the newspaper's stature in the city. The designer, Ernst Plassmann, and sculptor, Jacques Jouvenal, were both German-American artists. The architect of the memorial was J. F. Manning.
General Casimir Pulaski is a bronze equestrian statue of Casimir Pulaski, a military man born in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He joined the military at a young age, fighting for removal of the king, who was backed by Russia. After his side lost the war, he fled to Paris, where he met Benjamin Franklin. Impressed by Pulaski, Franklin wrote a letter of recommendation to George Washington, suggesting he would be a helpful soldier during the American Revolutionary War. After arriving in the U.S., Pulaski eventually was promoted to Brigadier General and commanded a cavalry unit, the Pulaski's Legion. He died in 1779 due to injuries sustained in battle.
American Revolution Statuary is a group of 14 statues in Washington, D.C., which honor men whose actions assisted the Thirteen Colonies in their fight against the Kingdom of Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War. They are spread throughout the city, except for the four statues in Lafayette Square, across from the White House, that honor some of the foreign heroes from the war. Some of the statues are located in prominent places, while others are in small parks or stand alone in front of buildings. All of the statues are owned and maintained by the National Park Service, an agency of the United States Department of the Interior. The statuary was collectively listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1978 and the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites the following year. In addition, most are also contributing properties to historic districts listed on the NRHP.
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Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, experienced a series of protests and riots following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Some of the events involved violence, looting, and destruction.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link).In 1988, Western Plaza became Freedom Plaza in memory of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 1963 "I Have A Dream" speech. Fittingly, a time capsule in his memory was buried underneath it. When it is opened in 2088, historians will find King's bible, a robe he wore to preach in and audio recordings of some of his speeches.
Yes, Freedom Plaza "remains a popular location for political protests and other events," as the association describes it, but that does not mean the concrete expanse across from the John A. Wilson Building was well planned.
Built in 1980, the Western Plaza was subsequently renamed Freedom Plaza in 1988, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. who had developed his "I have a dream speech" in close proximity to this space. Freedom Plaza remains a popular space for political protests and civic events in Washington DC.
Emancipation Day Concert - April 8, 2017, 2:45-9 p.m. Freedom Plaza, Washington DC. The star-studded DC Emancipation Day concert honors this special day. No tickets are needed for this event.
Skateboarding damages stonework, walls, steps, and sculpture in some areas and presents a persistent law enforcement and management challenge. Damaged areas include stone facing on memorials, benches, and other surfaces. Moreover, popular websites advertise the attractiveness of these areas for skateboarding, which indicates the large scope of this challenge. .... Actions: .... In park areas replace and maintain "No Skateboarding" signs that have been vandalized.
One group of people do use Freedom Plaza regularly: skateboarders. The open hardscape and railings of Freedom Plaza make an excellent and popular skate park, though skating there is not actually allowed and Park Police regularly chase skaters from the park.
Scott Brown said, "They came from all over the country to wreck our plaza, which they nearly did, and all those inscriptions on the floor and everything else, that's ruined by roller skating."