National Mall Plan and Redevelopment in Washington, DC

The National Mall Plan is a nationwide planning effort which is being made to improve ways that visitors experience the National Mall. Since 25 million people visit the National Mall each year, our national treasure is showing signs of wear and tear. The Trust for the National Mall, a non-profit organization, was created to raise the necessary funds to maintain and restore the National Mall as a world-class park and a public space that evokes the pride and patriotism of the American people.

Redevelopment Goals

• utilize ecologically sustainable practices, improving the health and appearance of the historic sites and landscape.
  
  
• revitalize and redesign facilities and infrastructure on the National Mall so it can continue to serve as a prominent stage for civic activities.
  
  
• provide visitors with convenient, clean facilities and services, such as restrooms, food service and recreation spaces.
  
  
• sustain the National Mall for future generations.

National Mall Design Competition

The Trust for the National Mall held a design competition among nationally renowned architects and landscape architects. The winning designs address aesthetics as well as issues of sustainability, maintenance and operations, and feature performance space, terraces, gardens, restaurants and an ice skating rink. The plan is to make these designs a reality, dramatically improving the visitors experience in time for the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service in 2016. The winners are:

Constitution Gardens: Rogers Marvel Architects & Peter Walker and Partners

Union Square (in front of the U.S. Capitol): Gustafson Guthrie Nichol & Davis Brody Bond

The Washington Monument Grounds: OLIN & Weiss/Manfredi

Interesting Facts About the National Mall

• 25 million people visit the National Mall each year.
  
  
• More than 3,000 annual events are held on the National Mall.
  
  
• Every weekday, more than 440,000 vehicles travel along the National Mall.
  
  
• The National Mall has more than 26 miles of pedestrian sidewalks and 8 miles of bike trails.
  
  
• 10 tons of grass seed and nearly 3,000 yards of sod and turf are installed and planted on over 300 acres on the National Mall.
  
  
• Over 9,000 trees are located on the National Mall; nearly 2,300 are American elm trees.
  
  
• More than 25,000 local sports enthusiasts use the 15 softball fields, eight volleyball courts, two rugby fields, two multi-purpose fields and the Washington Monument grounds for a variety of different recreation activities.
  
  
• Three to four tons of trash are collected and removed from the National Mall each day.

To learn more about visiting this part of Washington, DC, see On the National Mall.