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I was guided to this place on one of my numerous visits to Washington, D.C., in the early 1990s. I" d met a friend for lunch in the adams morgan neighborhood, and afterwards she recommended walk over to nearby meridian hill park see some cool architecture nice water feature. I was guided to this place on one of my numerous visits to Washington, D.C., in the early 1990s. I" d met a friend for lunch in the adams morgan neighborhood, and afterwards she recommended walk over to nearby meridian hill park see some cool architecture nice waterfeature. She was partly correct: The architecture was indeed cool, but the waterfeature was brilliant - unlike anything I had ever seen in the United States - and the story behind the property was plentiful icing on the cake. I was guided to this place on one of my numerous visits to Washington, D.C., in the early 1990s. I" d met a friend for lunch in the adams morgan neighborhood, and afterwards she recommended walk over to nearby meridian hill park see some cool architecture nice waterfeature. The park is located on a hill due north of the White House, and in 1804 Thomas Jefferson had a marker placed there along what became known as the White House Meridian as a geographical landmark for the then-developing city. After the War of 1812, the longstanding estate was acquired by Commodore David Porter, a war hero who eventually built a splendid mansion that offered views down to the White House and the Potomac River. I was guided to this place on one of my numerous visits to Washington, D.C., in the early 1990s. I" d met a friend for lunch in the adams morgan neighborhood, and afterwards she recommended walk over to nearby meridian hill park see some cool architecture nice waterfeature An author and activist, she was an ardent supporter of women's suffrage, temperance and vegetarianism - altogether a bold character. One of her plans, proposed in 1898, included moving the president's residence from the White House up to Meridian Hill. Topping herself, she also wanted the then-in-planning Lincoln Memorial to be built on her hill as well. I was guided to this place on one of my numerous visits to Washington, D.C., in the early 1990s. I" d met a friend for lunch in the adams morgan neighborhood, and afterwards she recommended walk over to nearby meridian hill park see some cool architecture nice waterfeature. Thwarted in both objectives, the "Empress of 16th Street" built and leased out a number of lots as embassies and mansions and then turned her focus to convincing the government to buy her remaining large property and turn it into a park. This project took hold: The land was purchased by the government in 1910, by which time Mary was 69 years old. She lived to be 90. I was guided to this place on one of my numerous visits to Washington, D.C., in the early 1990s. I" d met a friend for lunch in the adams morgan neighborhood, and afterwards she recommended walk over to nearby meridian hill park see some cool architecture nice waterfeature. In 1914, the government hired landscape architect George Burnap to create classic, European-style gardens for the new park. These plans were then modified by a second landscape architect, Horace Peaslee. What emerged was a stepped garden that took more than 20 years to complete. One key highlight: The park contains the world's first experiment - successful, I might add - with an exposed-aggregate finish. I was guided to this place on one of my numerous visits to Washington, D.C., in the early 1990s. I" d met a friend for lunch in the adams morgan neighborhood, and afterwards she recommended walk over to nearby meridian hill park see some cool architecture nice waterfeature But I'm letting the park's overall story lead me astray: Its main event is a 13-basin water stair in the Italian Renaissance style. Flanked by twin concrete stairways finished entirely with exposed aggregate, the cascade starts with fountain jets at the foot of a balustrade-topped, Italian-style wall and flows down to a final basin where the descending torrent is supplemented by spouting gargoyles. The water then passes over a final weir and into a large basin and ponds highlighted by fountain bowls and more gargoyles and fountain jets. I was guided to this place on one of my numerous visits to Washington, D.C., in the early 1990s. I" d met a friend for lunch in the adams morgan neighborhood, and afterwards she recommended walk over to nearby meridian hill park see some cool architecture nice waterfeature The whole composition was an unexpected delight - well worth straying from the Capitol Mall and the Smithsonian museums for a lingering visit. It's also within easy reach of the National Zoo - another worthy Washington attraction that too easily escapes attention. I was guided to this place on one of my numerous visits to Washington, D.C., in the early 1990s. I" d met a friend for lunch in the adams morgan neighborhood, and afterwards she recommended walk over to nearby meridian hill park see some cool architecture nice waterfeature My understanding is that Meridian Hill Park's cascade has been off for more than a year, undergoing a number of small repairs as well as the replacement of aging cast-iron pipes with plumbing made of a more suitable material. It's supposed to be up and running again by this summer, so give it a look: It's in an interesting part of the city that too few tourists ever see. I was guided to this place on one of my numerous visits to Washington, D.C., in the early 1990s. I" d met a friend for lunch in the adams morgan neighborhood, and afterwards she recommended walk over to nearby meridian hill park see some cool architecture nice waterfeature.To see a video of the water stair - not great quality but it gets the idea across admirably - click here.