Constitution Gardens is a park area in Washington, D.C., United States, located within the boundaries of the National Mall . The 50-acre (200,000 m) park is bounded on the west by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial , on the east by 17th St NW, on the north by Constitution Avenue , and on the south by the Reflecting Pool .
16-688: Constitution Gardens has a small pond, which contains the Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence on an island open to pedestrians. The land that became Constitution Gardens was originally submerged beneath the Potomac River and was dredged at the beginning of the 20th century by the Army Corps of Engineers . The U.S. Navy built the Main Navy and Munitions Buildings as temporary offices on
32-831: A facsimile of the signer's actual signature, his occupation, and his home town. It was dedicated on July 4, 1984, exactly 208 years after the Congress voted to approve the Declaration of Independence. Fifty-six delegates to the Second Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence and are honored at this Memorial: President of Congress New Hampshire Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut New York New Jersey Pennsylvania Delaware Maryland Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Georgia PWP Landscape Architecture Peter Walker (born 1932 in Pasadena )
48-613: A partnership with landscape architect Martha Schwartz . In the early 1990s, Walker formed Peter Walker and Partners. In a 1993 review, Walker was one of four landscape architects named as representative of the new generation. The company developed into an interdisciplinary firm that employs around thirty to forty landscape architects. The company has received many awards and co-designed the World Trade Center Memorial in New York with architect Michael Arad . Walker designed
64-655: Is accessible to the public by crossing a wooden bridge onto a small island set in the lake between Constitution Avenue and the Reflecting Pool , not far from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial . Public Law 95-260 was passed by Congress in 1978 to create a memorial to the signers of the Declaration of Independence. The memorial is a gift from the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration and consists of 56 stone blocks, each with
80-673: Is also the site of an annual naturalization ceremony for new U.S. citizens hosted by the National Park Service . In a series of plans and designs, architecture firm Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill (SOM) and Modern landscape architect Dan Kiley completed Constitution Gardens in 1976 as a picturesque restful park with a small lake, which would contrast with the "formalism of the Grand Axis." Meandering paths would traverse meadows shaded by tree canopy. Construction budgets were reduced from $ 14 million to $ 6.7 million. In 1984,
96-607: Is an American landscape architect and the founder of PWP Landscape Architecture. Walker grew up in California , where he attended the University of California, Berkeley . Walker started out studying journalism but quickly changed his field and received a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture in 1955. He did graduate studies at the University of Illinois , where he studied under Stanley White . Walker attended
112-602: The Harvard Graduate School of Design , where he received his master's degree in Landscape Architecture in 1957 and won the school's Jacob Weidenmann Prize that year. At Harvard University , Walker had been deeply influenced by his professor, Hideo Sasaki . After graduating, he worked for Sasaki. Shortly thereafter, they both went into partnership to form Sasaki Walker Associates in 1957. Walker and Sasaki went their separate ways in 1983, and Walker entered
128-530: The Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence was completed and placed on an island in Constitution Gardens Lake. It was designed by EDAW , with Joe Brown, FASLA, as the principal landscape architect. The low-key design features a granite semi-circle with gold signatures of the Founding Fathers , organized by the original thirteen states. A 2011–12 national design competition
144-630: The National Park Service since 1982, administered under the National Capitol Parks-Central (NACC). In July 1982, the Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence was dedicated on the small island in the lake. On November 13 of the same year, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall was also dedicated within Constitution Gardens. On September 17, 1986, President Ronald Reagan formally proclaimed
160-565: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial. PWP Landscape Architecture will transform the lake into a critical piece of water infrastructure that reduces the damaging impacts of stormwater while creating a source of water for reuse in irrigation and toilets. As of May 2024, efforts are underway to kick-start the revitalization effort aimed at restoring the role of Constitution Gardens as a prominent urban oasis and biodiversity hotspot. Led by PWP Landscape Architecture and Rogers Partners Architects,
176-481: The approved three-phase plan seeks to reintroduce a natural ecological landscape. Phase two, recently approved by the Commission of Fine Arts and National Capital Planning Commission , focuses on redesigning a 6.75-acre lake and creating 2.5 acres of meadows and woodlands. This transformation aims to replace the current concrete-lined lake with a thriving, sustainable habitat, integrating modern ecological principles with
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#1732855790882192-497: The evacuation of the area and holding the FBI and U.S. Park Police at bay for 48 hours before he surrendered. During the standoff, Watson dug up part of the island and damaged a retaining wall (for which he received a conviction for destroying federal property) but apparently did not harm any of the monuments. No explosives were found. As home to famous monuments, Constitution Gardens continues to have millions of visitors every year. It
208-736: The historic design concepts envisioned by Dan Kiley and SOM in the McMillan Plan . Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence The Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence is a memorial depicting the signatures of the 56 signatories to the United States Declaration of Independence . It is located in the Constitution Gardens on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The memorial
224-410: The land during World War I . The buildings were demolished in 1970 due in part to lobbying by President Richard Nixon , who had served in the offices as a navy officer. President Nixon subsequently ordered that a park be established on the land, and in 1976, Constitution Gardens was finally dedicated as a "living legacy American Revolution Bicentennial tribute." It has been a separate park unit in
240-469: The park a "living legacy tribute" to the United States Constitution , in honor of the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution one year later. From March 17 to March 19, 2003, Constitution Gardens was the site of a bizarre standoff between federal police and a disgruntled tobacco farmer, Dwight Watson . Watson drove his tractor into the center of the pond and claimed to have explosives, prompting
256-655: Was sponsored by the Trust for the National Mall to select a design team for the redesign of three sites: Constitution Gardens, the Sylvan Theater, and Union Square. After an intense and highly publicized competition, the Trust for the National Mall has announced the three winning teams selected to redesign the neglected sites of "America's front yard". As reported by The Washington Post , Rogers Marvel Architects and PWP Landscape Architecture will redesign Constitution Gardens east of
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