Farragut Square, 1886

History

Farragut Square, 1886

by Kent Boese • July 30, 2009 4:00 pm

The basic plan of Farragut Square (left) has been stable over the years. The only real changes that have occurred have been in lighting and foliage. The image at right, from the first quarter of the 20th century, shows the style of the gas lamps that once graced the park.

Below is a list of the plants in the square in 1886.

6 comments

Tags: DC, downtown DC, Farragut Square, history, parks

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Kent Boese posts items of historic interest primarily within the District. He's worked in libraries since 1994, both federal and law, and currently works on K Street. He lives in the Park View neighborhood, and is the force behind the blog Washington Kaleidoscope.

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Note that the gas lamp was capped on top so the light would reflect down and not all be wasted up into the sky, like the current "washington standard" lights DC uses....

by Moose on Jul 30, 2009 5:10 pm

If only they hadn't freaked out about having the Farragut metro stations be one big transfer station, maybe we would have a less congested Metro Center.

by Andrew on Jul 30, 2009 5:19 pm

note another big change...the area to the east and west of the square that has been eaten up by the widening of K street...

by IMGoph on Jul 30, 2009 5:33 pm

Why can't squares like this be redesigned to have better uses such as like Bryant Park in NY? Farragut such a centrally located square, but all you can do here is walk through or sit on a bench.

by Dunfarall on Jul 30, 2009 11:32 pm

Why can't squares like this be redesigned to have better uses such as like Bryant Park in NY? Farragut such a centrally located square, but all you can do here is walk through or sit on a bench.

Dunfarall, that's because Farragut, like so many parks in DC including Dupont Circle, is a federal park falling under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. As a federal park, there are lots of rules that ensure that it can only be used for mainly 'passive' recreational uses. For example, it is illegal to sell anything on this federal parkland which precludes fairs, farmer's market's, or even a music event where an entry fee would be required. Overall, that's probably a good policy that the National Park System has (i.e., to not let it's parks be commercialized), but considering some of these parks are really more our city's neighborhood parks than the nation's parks (e.g., like the Mall), these parks really should instead be under DC control so that a place like Farragut could be used more like Bryant Park in NYC.

by Lance on Jul 31, 2009 8:21 am

Farragut Square, a very small space, does have practical & important uses.
The Square is one giant picnic ground from April thru October for office
workers. The Square has also played host to summer lunchtime concerts.

Farragut Square was once beautifully landscaped by a dedicated NPS gardener.
It was absolutely stunning! Sadly, budget cutbacks and a cruder point of view
ended Farragut Square's gem-like quality.

by B. A. Fine on Oct 12, 2009 1:06 pm