DC Design Tours

After years of intermittent operation, the fountains at Meridian Hill (Malcolm X) Park are flowing again.

The park’s iconic 300-foot-long cascade—the longest cascading fountain in North America—has not been reliably running since 2021. A recently completed rehabilitation project included new pumps, fountain lining repairs, waterproofing work, and the replacement of roughly 90 linear feet of original cast-iron piping.

While filming this update, I had the chance to speak with the project engineer overseeing the restoration, who generously shared some behind-the-scenes details about the work and even briefly turned the fountains up to full force.

Beyond the engineering, it’s worth remembering just how much history this hillside has witnessed: a Civil War encampment, a postwar freedmen community, and eventually one of Washington’s most ambitious landscape architecture projects.

It’s wonderful to see this remarkable historic landscape doing what it was designed to do once again.

Have you visited the fountains since they reopened?

A rare chance to step inside the Smithsonian Castle. 🏰✨

After years of renovation, the Castle has temporarily reopened to debut *American Aspirations*—an exhibition that brings together some of the Smithsonian’s most iconic and significant treasures. Think of it as a “greatest hits” collection from the largest museum, education, and research complex in the world.

Even more remarkable: this reopening is temporary. Once the exhibition closes, the Castle is expected to close again for several more years as renovation work continues.

Whether you’re a history lover, a museum enthusiast, or just curious about the stories that have shaped America, this is a unique opportunity to experience both the exhibit and one of the Smithsonian’s most recognizable buildings before it closes its doors again.

Long before Rock Creek Park became a public park, the Peirce-Klingle Mansion sat at the center of one of Washington’s largest private estates.

The property belonged to Joshua Peirce, a wealthy horticulturalist known for the flowers, plants, and trees he cultivated and sold to places like the The White House and the United States Capitol. His orchards and nursery helped shape the landscape of early Washington during the 1800s.

According to local accounts, one of the people Peirce enslaved, William A. Beckett, was Peirce’s illegitimate son. After his emancipation, Beckett helped maintain the estate and care for Joshua Peirce later in life. Following Peirce’s death, Beckett reportedly received an inheritance that helped him establish a successful business in Southwest Washington.