Meridian Hill Park — Attraction in Washington

My favorite park in DC! It's unique & a bit quirky, tends to be quite friendly, and it has lots of character. The park is very popular with locals, especially during the summer when there can be well over 1,000 visitors. The park is very popular with joggers beginning in the wee hours of the morning. And then there are a number of groups that meet to exercise, do yoga, practice marshal arts and other sports. It is also very popular with dog owners whenever the park is open but they especially congregate in the morning on the main upper lawn to let their dogs socialize and play. Picnics are especially popular on the weekends. The park is also a favorite for photographers as well as couples.

I love all the secluded little winding paths & benches, and the various balconies, alcoves and hidden monuments. There are also many fountains of varying size, but my favorite feature is the awesome cascading fountain which is the only one of its kind on the East Coast. There is a pool in the cascading fountain for each of the 13 original colonies.

As the name suggests, the park was originally meant to mark the prime meridian and its creation was part of a failed campaign to have the prime meridian moved from Greenwich to Washington, DC.

The park was partially closed for renovation between late 2020 late 2022 to restore damaged historic concrete, and supposedly to replace old/damaged plumbing for the fountains and repair leaks surrounding the reflecting pool which became quite serious the last time the fountains were operated. However, the system has not been put into operation or refilled with water since the project's completion.

A wheelchair accessible entrance was also added to the lower level from 16th St. And a really ugly & entirely useless new metal "feature" was installed on the upper western path along the 16th street wall. What a total waste/misuse of resources!

Unfortunately, even the areas which remained open were not cared for as usual during construction. In fact, the entire park has been neglected since the project began. There are invasive plants & weeds growing all over the park, some completely out of control, and most of the trees & shrubs are also in great need of trimming, pruning & general upkeep.

Lightning strikes & windy storms have broken of large branches of several trees, and even knocked down a couple of huge trees which took some time for anyone to even begin to clean up.

Even worse is that no-one seems to be cleaning or picking up litter and trash in the park anymore, and even the trashcans are no longer regularly emptied. They often remain full or overflowing for days which is encouraging the rat problem. Litter has become prevalent all over the park.

Currently the smell of urine has become ubiquitous throughput the park due to the bathrooms being closed for two weeks recently (and randomly closing early or sporadically).

It is really a shame how much the condition of this wonderful park...

A MEDIOCRE PARK THAT COULD BE GREAT. Consider this:

❥ The Good News: Meridian Hill Park (a.k.a. Malcolm X Park) has a fabulous 13-basin cascading fountain, one of the longest in North America. Restful.

The Bad News: It's BROKEN. There's no water in it.

❥ The Good News: Below the cascading fountain is a reflecting pool. Meditative.

The Bad News: There is no water in the pool either. It's BROKEN.

❥ The Good News: The park is also the home of the splendid and somewhat LASCIVIOUS "Serenity," a glorious white marble statue by Spanish sculptor Josep Clarà i Ayats. Serenity's stance is relaxed and happy. Her legs are spread - and she doesn't care who knows it. Inspiring.

The Bad News: ...Or she would be - if she weren't BROKEN. Vandals have smashed off her nose. The rest of her face is decaying. Nobody is restoring her.

❥ The Good News: Then there's the Noyes Armillary Sphere, a map of astronomical objects first used in China approximately 200 B.C.E. Sounds fascinating, right? Well, it isn't.

The Bad News: It's BROKEN. But worse than that, the National Park Service has LOST it. The NPS took it out of the park for repair in the 1960s and then misplaced it. They claim they're replacing it: "The National Park Service is designing and building a replacement armillary sphere thanks to a generous donation."

OK, NPS. Where is the replacement? It's only been half a century.

❥ The Good News: The park is something of an architectural marvel. Though constructed on a hill, because of clever landscaping and design prestidigitation, it's flat and gives you the impression that you're in a field in a valley.

The Bad News: It's not handicap-accessible. As far as I can tell, there is no adequate ramping to make the park accessible to wheelchairs and many of the disabled. And several of the entrances to the park are closed to EVERYONE because of damage and vandalism. Yup, they're BROKEN.

After all of this awfully damning information, you might be wondering why I even gave this park three stars.

It's still a big, long, grassy and unusual park. It's still a marvelous gathering spot for the neighborhood, and there are flea markets, exercise classes and, on Sundays, a very loud and (exciting or horrifying, depending on your taste) participatory drum circle that's been going on for many years. People love to picnic here, and many dogs have made new best friends here.

Please let's pressure the National Park Service to do the right thing and RESTORE THIS PARK. The fountain should work. The pool should have water in it. Serenity needs her nose. The disabled should have full access.

One Last Thing: DON'T blame the DC Parks & Rec department for the decrepitude of Meridian Hill/Malcolm X. They have nothing to do with it.The National Park Service, which oversees Rock Creek Park, considers Meridian Hill part of Rock Creek Park.

It's not. It's not connected to Rock Creek Park. It's not even that NEAR Rock Creek Park.

Gee. Maybe the NPS...

This is 1 of the very few parks that I will actually show up in within the District of Columbia not because they r bad parks but this one here it just gives me a peace omg especially 4 the last 16 months durin COVID-19 I've always just got here turn on my tunes get n2 my #ZONE & allow my mind 2 just wonder as I take time out 2 Thank The Man Upstairs GOD 4 keepin me when He didn't have 2 but everyday my eyes open & my feet can hit da floor o yeah u betta know He's gettin all His#GloryAndHonor it belongs 2 Him anyways He is just allowin me 2 borrow it 2 fulfill da #PURPOSE He has already set aside 4 my life. Thank You God! And thank you to the Department of Parks & Recreation 4 preservin such a park like dis 1 which holds plenty of history! And its currently under construction 4 da upkeep purposes dis is definitely a place where I goes & loves 2 b 2 keep my #MentalHealth in check! Also 2day da Last Sunday of May 2021 they had dis drum group out there & babie they set a #WholeMood 4 me & I'm grateful #WelcomeBackDC surely...