Tour of historic McMillan Park

Tour historic McMillan Park

Saturday, April 21, 2012 10AM-1:30PM

Sponsored by Friends of McMillan Park
http://www.friendsofmcmillan.org/

Free tour and refreshments

Entrance: 1st Street NW about a block north of Channing Street across from the construction at the McMillan Reservoir.

Children and dogs are welcome, but they must be carefully monitored because the site is not completely safe.

Parking along 1st Street is metered. We are trying to get DPW to not enforce that but are awaiting a response; bring some change for the meters just in case.

Completed in 1905, the reservoir and filtration plant were named in honor of Senator James McMillan of Michigan, who chaired the Senate Committee on the District of Columbia and supported development of new water supply facilities. McMillan Park was an integral part of Senator McMillan's "Emerald Necklace" strategy for the Nation's Capital.

The original McMillan Park gardens were designed by the Olmsteds. Frederick Olmsted Sr. is known as the "father of American landscape architecture", having designed New York's Central Park, the U.S. Capitol grounds, Stanford University and the Niagara Reservation in Niagara Falls. DC residents enjoyed access to McMillan Park until WWII. In 1985, the slow sand filtration plant at McMillan was replaced with a new plant.