Meridian Hill Park, sometimes called Malcolm X Park, is located in the Washington, D.C. neighborhood of Columbia Heights. The 12 acres (49,000 m²) of landscaped grounds are maintained by the National Park Service as part of Rock Creek Park but is detached from the main part of that park. Meridian Hill Park is bordered by Euclid, 15th, W, and 16th Streets.
Much of the impetus for a grand park on this portion of 16th Street came from Mary Foote Henderson, wife of Missouri senator John Brooks Henderson and local resident. She lobbied Congress with several plans for the neighborhood before getting approval for the park. The land was originally part of Columbian College, now George Washington University. In 1910, after the school moved to its current ___location, the federal government bought the land, and in 1914 the Interior Department hired landscape architect George Burnap to design a grand urban park modeled on parks found in European capitals. His plans, later modified by Horace Peaslee, included an Italian Renaissance-style terraced fountain in the lower half and gardens in a French Baroque style in the upper half. The walls and fountains were built with concrete aggregate, a new building material consisting of concrete mixed with small pebbles. After two decades under construction, the grounds were given park status in 1936 and have been designated a National Historic Landmark.
Statues
- Serenity by sculptor Jose Clara, dedicated to the memory of Lt. Commander William Henry Scheutze (USN);
- Jeanne d'Arc, a gift from the "Ladies of France in Exile in New York." It is a bronze copy of a statue by Paul Dubois. The original is at the Rheims Cathedral in France. In a city of many equestrian statues, this is the only one to depict a woman.
- Dante Alighieri by Ettore Ximenes;
- A memorial to James Buchanan, the 15th President of the United States, sculpted by Hans Schuler.