Benjamin Banneker Park – DC Memorialist

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.

Benjamin Banneker Park on 10th Street, SW, looking north toward L'Enfant Plaza and the Forrestal Building — Benjamin Banneker Park on 10th Street, SW, looking north toward L’Enfant Plaza and the Forrestal Building.
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.

Pedestrian walkway on L’Enfant Boulevard (10th St, SW) looking toward Banneker Park and the Wharf
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.