Lafayette Square | |
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![]() Aerial view: Lafayette Square is the greenspace to the left of Pennsylvania Avenue (center), the White House grounds are to the right | |
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Coordinates | 38°53′58.3″N77°02′11.6″W / 38.899528°N 77.036556°W |
Area | 7 acres (2.8 ha) |
Lafayette Square is a seven-acre (30,000 m2) 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 general, 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, while at its center is 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.
Lafayette Square and the surrounding structures were designated the Lafayette Square Historic District in 1970.
Planned by Pierre L'Enfant as part of the pleasure grounds surrounding the Executive Mansion, the square is part of President's Park, which is the larger National Park Service unit that also includes the White House grounds, The Ellipse, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and grounds and the Treasury Building and grounds. In 1804, President Thomas Jefferson had Pennsylvania Avenue cut through the park and separated what would become Lafayette Square from the White House grounds. In 1824, that north side square including the park was officially renamed in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, the French general whose involvement was indispensable in securing victory in the American Revolutionary War. [1] [2] [3]
Named in honor of the naval war hero Commodore Steven Decatur, [4] the Decatur House borders Lafayette Square. [5] Used for slave trading, [5] the house remains as one of few surviving examples of an urban slave market. [6]
The land on what is now Lafayette Square was formerly used at various times as "a racetrack, a graveyard, a zoo, a slave market, an encampment for soldiers during the War of 1812, and the site of many political protests and celebrations." [6] In the early and mid-19th century, the buildings around the square included the homes of Washington's most prominent residents, including William Wilson Corcoran, Martin van Buren, Henry Clay, Dolley Madison, John Hay, and Henry Adams. [6]
In 1851, Andrew Jackson Downing was commissioned by President Millard Fillmore to landscape Lafayette Square in the picturesque style. [6] On February 27, 1859, US Representative Daniel Sickles killed Philip Barton Key II in Lafayette Square. Key had come to the park for an affair with Sickles's wife, only to be discovered and killed by Sickles. [7]
In the 20th century, the area around the square became less residential, with buildings increasingly occupied by offices and professional groups, [6] especially in the 1920s, and the construction of the Treasury Annex. [8] The last resident, Mary Chase Morris of the O'Toole House (730 Jackson Place), died during the Great Depression era, and her former home became an office building. [6]
Today's plan for the park dates from the 1930s. The park has five large statues. In the center stands Clark Mills' equestrian statue of President Andrew Jackson, erected in 1853; it is the first bronze statue cast in the United States. [9] In the four corners are statues of foreign Revolutionary War heroes: [6]
Lafayette Square was a popular cruising spot for gay men until the 1950s Lavender scare. [14]
In the 1960s, Lafayette Square became more noted for its use as a protest location. Protests related to nuclear weapons, Israel, and the Vietnam War were held there. [15]
In the 1970s, the park was overrun with a large Eastern gray squirrel population, possibly "the highest density of squirrels ever recorded in scientific literature," which eventually destroyed many trees and flowers in the park. [16] The squirrels' large numbers were sustained because the public overfed the squirrels and also because nestboxes had been once been installed and maintained by the National Park Service. [16] In 1985 and 1987, the issue was solved by a project in which the nest boxes were removed and many squirrels were captured and relocated away from Lafayette Square, to Fort Dupont Park and elsewhere. [16]
In 1989, Drug Enforcement Administration agents arranged a crack cocaine purchase in Lafayette Park prior to US President George H. W. Bush's delivery of a national address that was part of his ongoing effort against drug abuse. [17]
Thomas and Concepcion Picciotto are founders of the White House Peace Vigil, which is the longest running anti-nuclear peace vigil in U.S. history, at Lafayette Square. [18]
On June 1, 2020, amid mass protests in Washington, DC and nationally, which followed the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis; Lafayette Square and surrounding city streets were forcefully evicted of protesters, reporters, and clergy by police in riot gear using tear gas and clubbing them with batons. A day after the incident, a DOJ official said that U.S. Attorney General William Barr had personally ordered the park and surrounding areas to be cleared which resulted in a display of police aggression against a largely peaceful crowd. [19] The act, carried out by U.S. Park Police, Arlington County police, Federal Bureau of Prisons officers, and Secret Service officers, [20] was condemned by critics as a violation of the First Amendment right to freedom of assembly. [21] [22] Bureau of Prison officials fired pepper spray munitions, contrary to the instructions of Park Police leadership. [20] Although the D.C. Metropolitan Police was not involved in the initial advance of police against the crowd, MPD officers fired tear gas at demonstrators as they moved away from the park toward 17th Street. [20]
A report by the U.S. Department of Interior Office of Inspector General (OIG), released in June 2021, was limited to examining the Park Police under its jurisdiction. It concluded that the Park Police action was part of a plan to install "antiscale fencing" and that these plans were made before Barr arrived on the scene at 6:10 p.m. and before Trump walked to the church. [23] [24] [25] [26] However, Park Police commanders could not agree on who gave the order to deploy or explain why radio transmissions were not recorded. [26] The OIG report found that, contrary to the Park Police operational plan, the Secret Service began their operation at 6:16 p.m., soon after Barr arrived and a full seven minutes before any dispersal order was given by the Park Police. [26] The Secret Service apologized for this incident but the OIG for the Department of the Interior and the OIG for the Department of Homeland Security declined to investigate their actions. [26] [27] Similarly, the Park Police also deployed prior to completing dispersal orders. [26] Park Police did not explain why the operation began before a widely announced curfew as requested by DC Police. [26] The OIG report further stated that the Park Police's orders to disperse were not heard by all of the crowd and were generally ineffective. [20] The OIG report stated that the evidence obtained by the OIG concerning Park Police "did not support a finding" that Trump's visit was the reason why the park was cleared. [20] [23] [25] [24] The OIG report concluded that the decision to clear the park was lawful and consistent with Interior's policy, but made no conclusions on whether the decision to clear the park was a good decision, [25] nor did the OIG report make any conclusions about whether the police use of force was appropriate. [20] The OIG report focused on the role of Park Police (which is part of the Interior Department), and not on the role of other agencies, such as the Secret Service, which is part of the Homeland Security Department. Interior OIG investigators did not interview Secret Service or White House personnel. [20] As a result, the OIG report stated that OIG "cannot assess whether" Barr's visit to the park or any planned movement by Trump "influenced the Secret Service's actions, including its early deployment on to H Street." [24] In 2020, Joseph V. Cuffari, the DHS Inspector General, blocked recommendations from his staff to conduct an investigation into the Secret Service’s actions in the clearing of Lafayette Square. [27]
On June 22, 2020, demonstrators attempted to tear down the statue of Andrew Jackson at the center of the square. Following this incident, Lafayette Square was closed to the public. It was reopened on May 10, 2021. [28]
McPherson Square is a square in downtown Washington, D.C. It is bound by K Street Northwest to the north, Vermont Avenue NW on the East, I Street NW on the south, and 15th Street NW on the West; it is one block northeast of Lafayette Park. It is the sister square of Farragut Square two blocks west. and is served by the McPherson Square station of the Washington Metro.
Clark Mills was an American sculptor, best known for four versions of an equestrian statue of Andrew Jackson, located in Washington, D.C., with replicas in Nashville, Tennessee, Jacksonville, Florida, and New Orleans, Louisiana.
St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square is a historic Episcopal church located at Sixteenth Street and H Street NW, in Washington, D.C., along Black Lives Matter Plaza. The Greek Revival building, designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, is adjacent to Lafayette Square, one block from the White House. It is often called the "Church of the Presidents".
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.
The Lafayette Square Historic District is a National Historic Landmark District in Washington, D.C., encompassing a portion of the original L'Enfant Plan for the city's core. It includes the 7-acre (2.8 ha) Lafayette Square portion of President's Park, all of the buildings facing it except the White House, and the buildings flanking the White House to the east and west. The district was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970.
The Charleston, South Carolina, studio of sculptor Clark Mills, was his first—he worked there from 1837 to 1848, when he moved to Washington, DC. The Charleston studio was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1965. Before it became Mills' studio, the building, located at 51 Broad Street, Charleston originally served as a tenement house, and now houses professional offices.
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.
Andrew Jackson is a bronze equestrian statue by Clark Mills mounted on a white marble base in the center of Lafayette Square within President's Park in Washington, D.C., just to the north of the White House. Jackson is depicted dressed in military uniform, raising his hat with his right hand, while controlling the reins with his left hand as his horse rises on its rear legs.
Major General Marquis Gilbert de Lafayette is a statue in the southeast corner of Lafayette Square, in Washington, D.C., near the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Madison Place, across the street from the White House. The statue was erected in 1891 to honor Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, and his contributions in the American Revolutionary War. The square, originally part of the President's Park, was named in honor of the Marquis in 1824 during a visit he made to the U.S. The statuary was made by Alexandre Falguière and Antonin Mercié, and the architect who designed the marble pedestal was Paul Pujol. The monument comprises a bronze statue of the Marquis de Lafayette about 11 ft (3.4 m) high, standing on a French marble pedestal with four faces decorated with classical mouldings, accompanied by seven additional bronze statues, all larger than life size.
Brigadier General Thaddeus Kościuszko is a bronze statue honoring Polish military figure and engineer Tadeusz Kościuszko. The sculpture was dedicated in 1910, the third of four statues in Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C., to honor foreign-born heroes of the American Revolutionary War. Born in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1746, Kościuszko later received education at a Jesuit school before attending the Corps of Cadets in Warsaw. He later traveled to France where he studied in military academy libraries and adopted views of human liberty during the Age of Enlightenment. He moved to the Thirteen Colonies in 1776, where the war with the Kingdom of Great Britain had already begun. Kościuszko served as an engineer in the Continental Army, earning the praise of his superiors, including General George Washington.
Major General Comte Jean de Rochambeau is a bronze statue honoring Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, a French nobleman and general who played a major role in helping the Thirteen Colonies win independence during the American Revolutionary War. Rochambeau joined the French military as a teenager, participating in the War of Austrian Succession, after which he was promoted to colonel, and the Seven Years' War. During the war in America, Louis XVI asked Rochambeau to lead a force of 5,500 French soldiers to assist the fight against the Kingdom of Great Britain. He and George Washington later worked together in the successful siege of Yorktown. He led the Army of the North during the French Revolutionary Wars, but was arrested and almost executed during the Reign of Terror. His military rank was restored by Napoleon and Rochambeau died a few years later in 1807.
Major General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben is a bronze statue of Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, a Prussian soldier who assisted the Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolutionary War. Steuben had fought in previous wars, earning promotions until he assisted in the courts of Frederick the Great and later Josef Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen. After meeting with Benjamin Franklin, and fearing for his safety in Europe after alleged homosexual behavior, Steuben and his associates arrived to help the Continental Army.
American Revolution Statuary is a group of fourteen 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.
The Albert Pike Memorial is a public artwork in Washington, D.C., erected in 1901, and partially demolished in 2020 by protestors responding to the murder of George Floyd. It honors Albert Pike (1809–1891), a senior officer of the Confederate States Army as well as a poet, lawyer, and influential figure in the Scottish Rite of freemasonry. The memorial—which now only includes the base and Goddess of Masonry sculpture—sits near the corner of 3rd and D Streets NW in the Judiciary Square neighborhood. The memorial's two bronze figures were sculpted by Gaetano Trentanove, the Italian-American sculptor of another Washington, D.C., sculptural landmark, the Daniel Webster Memorial. The dedication ceremony in 1901 was attended by thousands of Masons who marched in a celebratory parade.
The George Floyd protests were a series of riots and demonstrations against police brutality that began in Minneapolis in the United States on May 26, 2020. The protests and civil unrest began in Minneapolis as reactions to the murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed African American man, by city police during an arrest. They spread nationally and internationally. Veteran officer Derek Chauvin was recorded as kneeling on Floyd's neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds; Floyd complained of not being able to breathe, but three other officers looked on and prevented passers-by from intervening. Chauvin and the other three officers involved were later arrested. In April 2021, Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. In June 2021, Chauvin was sentenced to 22+1⁄2 years in prison.
On June 1, 2020, amid the George Floyd protests in Washington, D.C., law enforcement officers used tear gas and other riot control tactics to forcefully clear peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square, creating a path for President Donald Trump and senior administration officials to walk from the White House to St. John's Episcopal Church. Trump held up a Bible and posed for a photo op in front of Ashburton House, which had been damaged by a fire set during protests the night before.
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.
In June 2020, the Trump administration began deploying federal law enforcement forces to select cities in the United States in response to rioting and monument removals amid the George Floyd protests. Federal law enforcement elements were deployed under Operation Legend, Operation Diligent Valor, and the Protecting American Communities Task Force (PACT). The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cited an executive order regarding "monuments, memorials and statues" as allowing federal officers to be deployed without the permission of individual U.S. states, as the federal government "has the right to enforce federal laws, investigate crimes and make arrests" within states.
The Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence was a two-block eight-month long protest art installation of Black Lives Matter memorials attached by visitors and community activists to the chain link fence outside the White House on H Street, between Vermont Avenue and Connecticut Avenue NW in Downtown Washington, D.C. in 2020 and 2021. The 1.7-mile (2.7 km) cordon of fencing around the White House was erected to move the growing crowds of protesters gathered at and around Lafayette Park after the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. The Memorial Fence developed from June 2020 until it was dismantled and archived in January 2021. Members of the public worked together to maintain, protect, and then archive the thousands of signs and artworks that were offered by the public.
The Navy Yard Urns are two decorative bronze urns located in Lafayette Square, a small park across the street from the White House, in Washington, D.C. They were originally planned to be installed in the 1850s, but due to the Civil War and other events, they were not erected until 1872. Secretary of the Navy George M. Robeson had ordered the urns be made at the Washington Navy Yard using melted cannons from the Civil War.