The National Mall, Washington D.C.
Written by Sarah Worthy
When I was preparing to leave for my first trip to Washington D.C. last winter, everyone told me I should visit the Mall as part of my tour. Being a native from Houston, I assumed that this National Mall was a grandiose shopping center, rivaling the Galleria Mall in Houston. While you can certainly call the National Mall ‘grandiose’, calling it a shopping center couldn’t be further from the truth.Â
The National Mall is a large grassy park that extends over 1.5 miles long from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol. Encompassed within this vast green field are the Washington Monument, the Reflecting Pool, Nine Museums, and a metro station among other things. There is a gravel trail around the Mall covering about 3 miles round-trip, enabling you to see much of our Capitol City’s buildings and tourist sites in one day.Â
The National Mall was originally conceived by Pierre Charles L’Enfant, the desginated planner of the Federal City of Washington D.C., in 1791. The Mall was supposed to be the “Grand Avenue†of the city leading to a point directly south of the White House. However, throughout the 1800’s, the park area’s venerable purpose was abandoned. During the civil war, it was largely used for military training and drills and later a 14-acre tract of the land was turned into a railroad station. Â
Congress began the restoration of the National Mall in the early 1900′s based on recommendations from the McMillan Commission, and in 1909 the railroad station was removed. The Mall began to take the form that we see today throughout the 1900’s as public museums and memorials have been added along the avenues of the mall.  In 1997, the Franklin D Roosevelt Memorial was added to the list of monuments that can be seen in the Mall.
The National Mall offers the opportunity to spend an hour or two enjoying the reflecting pool and walking around the park or several days to explore the museums, memorials, and gardens that create the ‘Grande Avenue’ envisioned so long ago by the Capitol City’s planner, L’Enfant.Â
