Union Square (Washington, D.C.)

Public plaza in Washington, D.C.

Union Square is an 11-acre public plaza at the foot of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., United States. It encompasses the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial (1924) and the 6-acre Capitol Reflecting Pool (1971) and is just west of the United States Capitol building. Views differ as to whether the Square is just east of the National Mall or is itself the eastern end.

Interstate 395 transits the Third Street Tunnel just beneath Union Square. The George Gordon Meade Memorial (1927) formerly stood in the northwest section of Union Square; that memorial now stands near the intersection of Constitution Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.

History

The area constituting Union Square was originally part of the U.S. Capitol complex, but beginning in the 1930s the National Park Service assumed jurisdiction over the site. In 2012 the Trust for the National Mall selected Seattle-based landscape architects Gustafson Guthrie Nichol (GGN) and New York-based architects Davis Brody Bond (DBB) for the redesign of Union Square. The winning design was judged on flexibility, sustainability, and creativity of their design and how well it reflected the established vision and design influences of this historic setting.

However, the 112th United States Congress enacted the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2012, which transferred to the Architect of the Capitol the NPS "property which is bounded on the north by Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, on the east by First Street Northwest and First Street Southwest, on the south by Maryland Avenue Southwest, and on the west by Third Street Southwest and Third Street Northwest".

The Act removed Union Square from NPS jurisdiction. The transfer of ownership occasioned some controversy as the NPS and the Trust for The National Mall had planned to enhance the area to accommodate political demonstrations, gatherings and entertainment events. The NPS expressed surprise at the move and some advocates for protest groups complained, asserting that the Architect of the Capitol and the United States Capitol Police (who were now responsible for security) were likely to be less tactful and accommodating to demonstrators than the Park Police. A Washington Post writer stated: "Although definitions of what constitutes the Mall vary, the provision, in a sense, moves its easternmost boundary west — from First Street to Third Street."

References

"Union Square Cultural Landscape Inventory". National Mall Plan: History. National Park Service. 2006. Archived from the original on 2013-06-19. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
(1) Willinger, Douglas Andrew (2007-03-18). "I-95 Center Leg (today's I-395 3rd Street Tunnel)". A Trip Within the Beltway: About the Roads of Disconnect and Connect Within and Near Washington, D.C. Archived from the original on 2013-06-05. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
Google map of Union Square area
^ Ruane, Michael E. (2011-12-27). "Control of the Mall's Union Square changes hands". PostLocal. The Washington Post. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
"National Mall Winning Design Proposal for Union Square / Gustafson Guthrie Nichol + Davis Brody Bond". 7 May 2012.
"Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2012" (PDF). Public Law 112-74, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012. United States Government Printing Office. 2011-12-23. p. 125 STAT. 1129. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
TRANSFER TO ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL
Sec. 1202. (a) Transfer.—To the extent that the Director of the National Park Service has jurisdiction and control over any portion of the area described in subsection (b) and any monument or other facility which is located within such area, such jurisdiction and control is hereby transferred to the Architect of the Capitol as of the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) Area Described.—The area described in this subsection is the property which is bounded on the north by Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, on the east by First Street Northwest and First Street Southwest, on the south by Maryland Avenue Southwest, and on the west by Third Street Southwest and Third Street Northwest.
"Update on the National Mall Plan" (PDF). Enriching Your American Experience: The National Mall Plan. National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. 2010. p. 13. Archived from the original on 2012-11-07. Retrieved 2015-12-22.

v t e United States Capitol Complex
United States Capitol
House	House chamber Office buildings (office lottery): Cannon House Library Ford Longworth Rayburn O'Neill O'Neill (former)
Senate	Senate chamber Old Senate Chamber Senate Reception Room Hideaways Office buildings: Dirksen Hart Mountains and Clouds Russell Senate Library
Library of Congress	Adams Jefferson Madison Law Library of Congress Mary Pickford Theater
Individual features	Cornerstone Dome Statue of Freedom The Apotheosis of Washington Rotunda Columbus Doors Declaration of Independence painting Frieze of American History General George Washington Resigning His Commission Surrender of General Burgoyne Surrender of Lord Cornwallis Jefferson statue Lincoln statue Washington statue National Statuary Hall Statues Crypt Hall of Columns Brumidi Corridors Apotheosis of Democracy Progress of Civilization Pediment First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (Bittinger) Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States Revolutionary War Door George Washington and the Revolutionary War Door Washington at Princeton Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way Vice Presidential Bust Collection Ohio Clock President's Room Vice President's Room Congressional Prayer Room Old Supreme Court Chamber Washington's Tomb Visitor Center Lincoln Catafalque
Former features	George Washington as Zeus (sculpture, 1841–1908) Discovery of America (sculpture, 1844–1958) The Rescue (sculpture, 1853–1958) National Capitol Columns U.S. Capitol Gatehouses and Gateposts
Others	Art List of art List of portraits (A-J) Confederate Botanic Garden Capitol Hill James A. Garfield Monument Ulysses S. Grant Memorial Peace Monument Judiciary Building Power Plant Reflecting Pool Subway System Supreme Court Building Union Square Senate Page Residence Pennsylvania Avenue

v t e Landmarks of Washington, D.C.
Memorials	Adams African American Civil War American Veterans Disabled for Life John Barry Belmont–Paul Women's Equality National Monument Mary McLeod Bethune Boy Scout James Buchanan John Carroll D.C. War Albert Einstein Emancipation Dwight D. Eisenhower John Ericsson David Farragut First Division Thomas Gallaudet James A. Garfield Kahlil Gibran Samuel Gompers Ulysses S. Grant Holocaust Museum Holodomor Genocide Andrew Jackson Japanese American Patriotism During World War II Jefferson Memorial Lyndon Baines Johnson Grove John Paul Jones Marquis de Lafayette Law Enforcement Officers Lincoln Memorial statue Martin Luther King, Jr. Korean War Veterans George Mason George B. McClellan George Meade Peter Muhlenberg National Statuary Hall Collection Navy – Merchant Marine Nuns of the Battlefield Peace Monument John J. Pershing Second Division Signers of the Declaration of Independence The Extra Mile Three Soldiers Jean de Rochambeau Franklin Delano Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Island Taras Shevchenko Statues of the Liberators Oscar Straus Robert A. Taft Titanic United States Navy Victims of Communism Vietnam Veterans Vietnam Women's Washington Monument Daniel Webster World War I World War II Rainbow Pool
Other	Basilica of the Immaculate Conception Blair House Capitol Reflecting Pool Congressional Cemetery DAR Constitution Hall Exorcist steps First Air Mail Marker Ford's Theatre Petersen House Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Healy Hall Hillwood Estate and Museum Islamic Center Jefferson Pier John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Library of Congress Jefferson Adams Madison National Arboretum National Capitol Columns National Building Museum National Gallery of Art Lincoln's Cottage at Soldiers' Home Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool National Archives National Cathedral National Mall Octagon House Old Post Office Old Stone House Smithsonian Institution St. John's Episcopal Church The Arts of War and The Arts of Peace Tidal Basin Treasury Building Freedman's Bank Building Tudor Place Union Station United States Capitol Capitol Hill Dome Rotunda United States Supreme Court Building Watergate complex White House Willard Hotel
Parks and plazas	Constitution Gardens Dupont Circle East Potomac Park Farragut Square Freedom Plaza Lafayette Square L'Enfant Plaza Meridian Hill Park National Arboretum Pershing Park President's Park Rock Creek Park The Ellipse Union Square United States Botanic Garden West Potomac Park
Boundaries	Anacostia River Arlington Memorial Bridge Boundary markers of the original District of Columbia Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Constitution Avenue Francis Scott Key Bridge Pennsylvania Avenue Potomac River Zero Milestone
Nearby landmarks	Arlington National Cemetery Tomb of the Unknown Soldier John F. Kennedy gravesite Arlington House Marine Corps War Memorial Mount Vernon Netherlands Carillon Pentagon Pentagon Memorial United States Air Force Memorial Women in Military Service for America Memorial
Planned	Adams Memorial National Desert Storm and Desert Shield Memorial National Liberty Memorial Peace Corps Commemorative
Canceled	George Washington Memorial Building Gold Star Mothers National Monument Mammy memorial National Slave Memorial
Related	National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission National Mall and Memorial Parks List of National Historic Landmarks in Washington, D.C. National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C.
Public art in Washington, D.C. (American Revolution Statuary, Civil War Monuments, Commemorating African-Americans, Outdoor sculpture)

v t e Streets and highways of Washington, D.C.
Numbered streets	7th Street 14th Street 16th Street NW 18th Street NW
Lettered streets	F Street H Street K Street M Street P Street U Street
State-named roadways	Connecticut Florida Georgia Maine Massachusetts Missouri New Hampshire New York Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island Virginia West Virginia Wisconsin
Border avenues and streets	Capitol Streets North East South Border Avenues Western Eastern Southern National Mall Constitution Independence President's Park Jackson Madison East Executive West Executive
Other streets	Benning Road Black Lives Matter Plaza Columbia Road Embassy Row Klingle Road MacArthur Boulevard Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue
Circles	Anna J. Cooper Banneker Barney Chevy Chase Columbus Dave Thomas Dupont Grant Logan Observatory Peace Scott Sheridan Sherman Tenley Thomas Truxton Ward Washington
Squares	Farragut Franklin Freedom Lafayette Lincoln McPherson Mount Vernon Seward Stanton Union
Parkways	Clara Barton George Washington Memorial Oxon Run Rock Creek and Potomac Suitland
Expressways	9th Street 12th Street Anacostia Center Leg E Street Kenilworth Avenue Potomac River Southeast Southwest

38°53′23″N 77°00′49″W / 38.8898°N 77.0137°W / 38.8898; -77.0137

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