The Garden Club of America Entrance Markers in Washington, D.C., are carven stone pylons installed along the border of the District of Columbia in 1932 and 1933 by local Garden Club of America chapters. Originally about five feet tall, the markers were placed at important entrance points to the national capital. Nine survive: sets of two markers in Westmoreland Circle, Friendship Heights, and Chevy Chase Circle, a single marker along Georgia Avenue, a single marker on the Arlington end of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and a single marker in a yard on 42nd Street NW.[2][3] These surviving markers are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The markers were designed by architect Edward Donn, who based them on the milestones set up in 1761 along the Mason–Dixon line denoting the Pennsylvania-Maryland boundary.[4] Installed between April 1932 and October 1933,[3] the markers are composed of Aquia Creek sandstone and bear the Seal of Maryland on one side and the Cartouche of the District of Columbia on the opposite side. The cartouche depicts George Washington with Lady Justice, a laurel wreath, the rising sun, and the capitol dome.[3]
Each stone was originally surrounded by fences consisting of chains supported by four bollards and planting schemes designed by the Maryland and Virginia chapters of the Garden Club. As the Club intended that the markers would notify people that they were passing a boundary, not all sit precisely on boundary lines.[3]
The Virginia markers have disappeared, as have the 16th Street set.[3] However, an entrance marker that does not resemble any that the Garden Club erected now stands at the north portal inside Blair Circle at the junction of Eastern Avenue, 16th Street NW, N. Portal Drive, and Colesville Road.[5]
Each of the seven surviving markers show the effects of weathering, pollution, and other abuse. Motorists have knocked over some or all of these; many now stand well short of their original height. Some have been removed from their original locations and reinstalled nearby. The disposition of those that are no longer in place is now unknown.[3]
In 2007, the markers were collectively submitted to the NRHP as a Multiple Property Submission, or MPS; they were added in 2008.
Locations of the surviving markers
The current locations of the seven surviving markers are:
Westmoreland Circle (two markers): Junction of Western Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue, NW. The markers are located opposite one another along the Western Avenue axis of the Circle, about two feet within the outside circumference of the circle. The westernmost marker stands beneath an oak tree and is surrounded by its original chain link fence. The easternmost marker stands in the open, without a protecting fence.[3][6][7] The markers are between the Northwest No. 5 and Northwest No. 6 boundary markers of the original District of Columbia.
Friendship Heights (two markers): Junction of Western Avenue and Wisconsin Avenue, near the Friendship Heights Metro Station. The markers are located on the east and west sides of Wisconsin Avenue, immediately north of Western Avenue.[8][9][10] These markers are between the Northwest No. 6 and Northwest No. 7 boundary markers of the original District of Columbia.
Chevy Chase Circle (two markers): Junction of Western Avenue and Connecticut Avenue. The markers are located well within the inside circumference of the circle, close to the Circle's east—west axis. Their sites are within the east and west sides of a grassy circle that lies between rings of azalea plantings and benches that form a perimeter around the centrally-placed Newlands Fountain. The plantings, grass and benches encircle a ring of stone paving that surrounds the fountain.[11][12][13] These markers are between the Northwest No. 7 and Northwest No. 8 boundary markers of the original District of Columbia.
Traffic island at the junction of Georgia Avenue, Alaska Avenue and Kalmia Road NW (one marker). The marker is located inside the triangular island's southeast corner, near the intersection of Georgia Avenue to the east and Kalmia Road to the south. A chain-link fence that bollards support surrounds the marker. A landscaped planting of shrubs is behind the marker.[14]
The marker was formerly located inside a median in the center of Georgia Avenue, just north of the Avenue's intersection with Kalmia Road and Alaska Avenue.[15][16] The marker is between the former site of the Northeast No. 1 and the present site of the Northeast No. 2 boundary markers of the original District of Columbia.
List of the markers
The seven Garden Club of America Entrance Markers, beginning at Westmoreland Circle and proceeding clockwise.
↑(1) "Garden Club Entrance Markers"(PDF). Inventory G of Historic Sites and Districts. District of Columbia Office of Planning. Archived from the original(PDF) on July 29, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.. (2) "Garden Club Entrance Markers"(PDF). District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites: Alphabetic Version. District of Columbia Office of Planning. September 30, 2009. p.62. Archived from the original(PDF) on October 1, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020..
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