At the end of L’Enfant Boulevard (10th Street, SW) in Southwest DC there is a park dedicated to Benjamin Banneker.
Benjamin Banneker was an African-American scientist who worked with L’Enfant and Andrew Ellicott to map out the city of Washington. Banneker became a mathematician, astronomer, inventor, and writer. Benjamin Banneker was born in 1731 and died in Baltimore in 1806.
Photo by Fiona Clem ©2019
The park was designed by Dan Kiley and opened in November 1971. In 1998, Congress passed legislation that authorized a Banneker memorial in D.C. This park site was chosen for that memorial, and it is managed by the National Park Service.
Photo by Fiona Clem ©2019
From Banneker Park there are views to the south that look over Maine Avenue, SW, and onto the Wharf development that was completed in September 2017.
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I am interested in researching more about Banneker and this site. Especially Banneker history and contributions to the L’Enfant Plan. Any suggestions?
Does anyone know what is currently happening in Banneker Park (February 2021)? All the trees have been cut down and they are taking up the paving stones. I can’t find any plan online.
Benjamin Banneker Park is under construction until June 2021.
According to the project information
“The project will replace all of the London Plane trees on site, as well as the subgrade soil surrounding the trees. The compacted soil beneath the block pavers will be replaced with a structural soil system specially designed by Cornell University. The new system is a mixture of gravel and soil that allows and encourages root growth while still being able to withstand the compression requirements for a paved surface. The new soil should greatly extend the life expectancy of trees on the site, which currently are replaced every 5-10 years.”
Read more here: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/bannekerreno.htm
As the FOUNDER/CEO of the WASHINGTON INTERDEPENDENCE COUNCIL our Agency has endeavored to raise the vonsciousness AND funding necessary to overlay the basic renovation of the half mile corridor of L’ENFANT PLAZA/BANNEKER OVERLOOK PARK for the past 25 years; bringing in $138 millions in TEA21 [Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century] funds……. arguably, the biggest secret in the Nation’s Capital.
However, the truth is that this non-profit social agency, the Washington Interdependence Council, has endeavored to upgrade the entire half mile site, as well as the Banneker Overlook Park acreage to a World Class “Living Memorial” in the Nation’s Capital by bringing in $138 million into the coffers of the Treasury of the United States.
HOWEVER, the CITIZENRY of the NATION HAS NOT, OVER TWO CENTURIES SINCE BANNEKER’S TRANSITION, SUPPORTED OR DEMANDED THAT HIS LEGACY IS PROPERLY HONORED AS AMONG THE BEST DOCUMENTED “FOUNDING FATHERS” OF THE NATION’S CAPITAL OF THE USA — AMONG HIS MANY OTHER TRAILBLAZING DISCOVERIES – HE IS, OF COURSE, MOST KNOWN FOR, CHIEF AMONG THEM OTHER THAN SURVEYING THE NATION’S CAPITAL; SUPERVISING AND DETERMINING, THE AREA WHICH BANNEKER CALCULATED AS THE AREA, ESPECIALLY CREATED, AS THE NATION’S CAPITAL, NOW KNOWN AS “WASHINGTON, DC – THE CAPITAL OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.” – AMONG HIS MANY OTHER UNPRECEDENTED, AND TRAILBLAZING SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES.
QUESTION IS, WHEN WILL THE UNITED STATES ATONE FOR ITS ON-GOING OPPRESSION; GENOCIDE, UNJUST INCARCERATION and OPPRESSION OF NATIVE and AFRICAN-AMERICANS?????
UNTIL AMERICA ATONES FOR ITS SINS AGAINST PEOPLE OF COLOR ESPECIALLY TOWARDS NATIVE-AMERICANS WHOSE LAND WAS STOLEN FROM THEM TO CREATE amerikkka; AND AFRICAN PEOPLE THEN STOLEN FROM AFRICA, AND THEN BROUGHT OVER HUNDREDS OF MILES ACROSS THE OCEAN TO BUILD THIS COUNTRY, INVENTING VIRTUALLY EVERYTHING IN USE HERE AND WORLD WIDE NOW 400 YEARS LATER; AND STILL SEEKING TO BE TRULY FREE – VERSUS THE PSEUDO-FREEDOM FARCE OF BLACK PEOPLE.
“CONSCIOUSNESS” typo.
Does anyone have info on when the fountain is on and why sometimes it is not?
The fountain is being worked on and the park is being replanted. The construction should have been completed by the end of June.
Back in the 60s early 70s, my father who was a DC Police Officer would take my family and friends to swim in the fountain on hot summer nights! It was so refreshing and fun, just looking at this picture makes it seem like yesterday, great childhood memories.