Top of page

The Nation’s Capital in Spring – Pic of the Week

Share this post:

A tree blooms on the grounds of the Capitol.  [Photo by Betty Lupinacci]
A white magnolia blooms on the grounds of the Capitol. The snowplow under it does not trust that winter is over. [Photo by Betty Lupinacci]
Cherry blossoms are in full bloom.  Congress is busy with budget hearings.  All vehicles – no matter what color they were originally painted – are now yellow with pollen.  It is spring in the nation’s capital.

For the beauty of our immediate surroundings here on Capitol Hill, we must thank Frederick Law Olmsted (how can you go wrong with middle name like “Law”?), the prominent American landscape architect.  Olmsted designed no fewer than 550 parks and public spaces throughout the United States, including the grounds of the Capitol Building.

In the appropriations passed on March 21, 1874, Congress allocated $3,000 for a topographical survey of the Capitol grounds and also hired Olmsted to complete a design for the grounds. (18 Stat. 23)  Olmsted incorporated over 100 varieties of trees (mostly deciduous) and bushes, whose blooms hearken the spring.  Congress approved the continuing work on the Capitol grounds by appropriating $20,000 in April of 1876.  (19 Stat. 35)  The design and implementation of the expanded grounds – including the marble terraces surrounding the Capitol, the grand staircase, a brick “summerhouse” for respite from the sun, pedestrian and vehicular paths, and all of the landscaping – took 18 years to complete.

The image above is rather representative of the kind of weather we have been having lately.  While the tree is burgeoning with flowers, a snowplow with an attached salt spreader waits below for a radical change in the weather.

Comments (2)

  1. Thanks, Jennifer!

Add a Comment

This blog is governed by the general rules of respectful civil discourse. You are fully responsible for everything that you post. The content of all comments is released into the public domain unless clearly stated otherwise. The Library of Congress does not control the content posted. Nevertheless, the Library of Congress may monitor any user-generated content as it chooses and reserves the right to remove content for any reason whatever, without consent. Gratuitous links to sites are viewed as spam and may result in removed comments. We further reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to remove a user's privilege to post content on the Library site. Read our Comment and Posting Policy.


Required fields are indicated with an * asterisk.