DC needs a proper city park!!

[aquablue]

Excuse my rant, but as a DC resident, I bemoan the fact that DC has no real decent city park like NY, Chicago or SF parks (or countless euro cities). No, I don't count R. Creek park, it is just basically a forest for deer and not for most humans unless you like jogging beside a highway.

The Mall is too urban, congested and 'monumental' and doesn't feel like a park at all. It feels more like a monumental core in a city rather than a classic city park.

Also, the mall is always ratty looking and horribly maintained. It looks like a third world country with cracked pavements, poor grass and paths that are losing their gravel.

I think they should level a large portion of RC park and make it into something like Central Park in NYC with ponds, gardens, paths and lawns. Of course, the greens would never have it. It is a green lung, but DC has needs a nice new park of substantial size.

It also could use a decent public square. None of the squares in DC stand out as being nice places to frequent. Dupont is just awful with the traffic around it.

Pity Olmsted never did his magic here.

As DC lacks these fundamental aspects that I value in a city, I'm considering moving to a city that has a decent park unless something is done about this.

[Mirage52]

For a city of its size, it's taken up by some pretty large swaths of park land, and I think the parks it does have, while not your typical city parks, are pretty unique and amazing.

What are you looking for in a park? Do you have a dog?

[pepperjack]

if they tore down that big white house, you could put a park in there. do we even need that, only a couple people live in there!

[NovaWolverine]

I wouldn't hold your breath. Meridian Hill park is the probably the only place that really qualifies. Large areas like where the new convention center hotel is going could have been a nice urban park.

You need high density a lot of foot traffic nearby to get the kind of neighborhood vibe you're talking about and there are no large swaths of land that would qualify. Rock Creek Park doesn't really have these places. The current neighborhood parks and squares are about as good as we're gonna do in the L'Enfant City and it's periphery. Dupont is great, but is small and has a lot of vehicular traffic. A bigger version of that would be great. SW and the Ballpark District have potential, but the density isn't there.

I really think the Mall should be use more though. Besides tons of tourists, there's no reason why it couldn't be what you're looking for. I think it's a perfectly good place to people watch, read a book, throw a ball around, etc.

[aquablue]

Originally Posted by NovaWolverine

I wouldn't hold your breath. Meridian Hill park is the probably the only place that really qualifies. Large areas like where the new convention center hotel is going could have been a nice urban park.

You need high density a lot of foot traffic nearby to get the kind of neighborhood vibe you're talking about and there are no large swaths of land that would qualify. Rock Creek Park doesn't really have these places. The current neighborhood parks and squares are about as good as we're gonna do in the L'Enfant City and it's periphery. Dupont is great, but is small and has a lot of vehicular traffic. A bigger version of that would be great. SW and the Ballpark District have potential, but the density isn't there.

I really think the Mall should be use more though. Besides tons of tourists, there's no reason why it couldn't be what you're looking for. I think it's a perfectly good place to people watch, read a book, throw a ball around, etc.

The mall is OK as a park. It just doesn't feel like a cozy park though, I can't explain it. Just seems like a part of the city to me. An esplanade, rather than a real park.

We could use another traditional park. I suppose the problem is that NW is too suburban in character to sustain an urban park. I never use RCP and I live near it. I hate it, it is not a welcoming place unless you love the woods. I consider RCP as a forest... Why no lawns or ponds in RCP? Would it kill be that much of an environmental disaster to have a few open areas for the residents to play and relax in? Why does it have to be all trees and roads?

Sorry to say, but whoever designed that park is a fool. The only good thing about it is walking on the road on the weekends when traffic is shut off.

[diablo234]

Originally Posted by aquablue

The mall is OK as a park. It just doesn't feel like a cozy park though, I can't explain it. Just seems like a part of the city to me. An esplanade, rather than a real park.

We could use another traditional park. I suppose the problem is that NW is too suburban in character to sustain an urban park. I never use RCP and I live near it. I hate it, it is not a welcoming place unless you love the woods. I consider RCP as a forest... Why no lawns or ponds in RCP? Would it kill be that much of an environmental disaster to have a few open areas for the residents to play and relax in? Why does it have to be all trees and roads?

Sorry to say, but whoever designed that park is a fool.

Just so you know the western portion of the Mall already has that stuff.

[NovaWolverine]

I completely agree that The Mall isn't cozy and is far from where a lot of people actually frequent, but when I do go and actually spend some time there, I'm glad I did. I do think the areas with trees should have double as many.

There is a very long-term plan to expand The Mall and develop areas for new parks and museums. One of the plans is to redevelop Teddy Roosevelt Island and East Potomac Park. Neither would really qualify as what the OP is looking for. Another very long-term plan is to redo the roads around the Kennedy Center to make it less of a clusterfuck of roads and have more leisure/park area. I would love to see this extend to the K St./Whitehurst Fwy and Rock Creek Park intersection.

I think the most practical option would be to develop more small neighborhood parks. I would love the large centrally-located park like what NYC and Chicago have that area huge draws in the summer for people all over the city, but it'll be tough to build something like that new and The Mall is the best we have at achieving that. If only we could have an area of The Mall caters a bit more to locals with a cozy and social area like Sheep Meadow in Central Park.

[Eerik]

Have you ever been to Rock Creek Park? There are lots of "cozy" places to walk, or if you prefer have a picnic. On the weekends I can see many families using the park -- be it to play ball, grill, take in some sun, etc. And as you mentioned, yes, northern portions of the park are closed to vehicles on the weekend so that visitors can bike on miles of vehicle-free roads. What's not to like? It's one of DC's best kept secrets!

Originally Posted by aquablue

The mall is OK as a park. It just doesn't feel like a cozy park though, I can't explain it. Just seems like a part of the city to me. An esplanade, rather than a real park.

We could use another traditional park. I suppose the problem is that NW is too suburban in character to sustain an urban park. I never use RCP and I live near it. I hate it, it is not a welcoming place unless you love the woods. I consider RCP as a forest... Why no lawns or ponds in RCP? Would it kill be that much of an environmental disaster to have a few open areas for the residents to play and relax in? Why does it have to be all trees and roads?

Sorry to say, but whoever designed that park is a fool. The only good thing about it is walking on the road on the weekends when traffic is shut off.

[aquablue]

Originally Posted by Eerik

Have you ever been to Rock Creek Park? There are lots of "cozy" places to walk, or if you prefer have a picnic. On the weekends I can see many families using the park -- be it to play ball, grill, take in some sun, etc. And as you mentioned, yes, northern portions of the park are closed to vehicles on the weekend so that visitors can bike on miles of vehicle-free roads. What's not to like? It's one of DC's best kept secrets!

I live very close to it for around 15 years. I think I KNOW RCP by now.

Sorry, it doesn't do it for me. Most of the tiny open grassy areas are along one road, the rest is forest with trails (i don't like wild forest trails). I like formal parks, with nice landscaping, paths, open areas, ponds, bridges, etc, etc. For me, DC lacks a true park. The reflecting pool area on the mall is nice, the closest we have. Still, it is not a real park IMO.

[old school]

Originally Posted by aquablue

I live very close to it for around 15 years. I think I KNOW RCP by now.

Sorry, it doesn't do it for me. Most of the tiny open grassy areas are along one road, the rest is forest with trails (i don't like wild forest trails). I like formal parks, with nice landscaping, paths, open areas, ponds, bridges, etc, etc. For me, DC lacks a true park. The reflecting pool area on the mall is nice, the closest we have. Still, it is not a real park IMO.

When are you moving???

[po-boy]

East Potomac Park/Hains Point? West Potomac Park? How about Lincoln Park in Capitol Hill? The National Arboretum?

There are a lot of nice green areas in DC aside from the Mall.

[RavensFan0606]

Patterson Park in Baltimore is nice, move to Upper Fell's Point and enjoy!

[Eerik]

Originally Posted by aquablue

I live very close to it for around 15 years. I think I KNOW RCP by now.

Sorry, it doesn't do it for me. Most of the tiny open grassy areas are along one road, the rest is forest with trails (i don't like wild forest trails). I like formal parks, with nice landscaping, paths, open areas, ponds, bridges, etc, etc. For me, DC lacks a true park. The reflecting pool area on the mall is nice, the closest we have. Still, it is not a real park IMO.

Have you ever been to Dumbarton Oaks? Also adjacent to the Rock Creek Park area. It has consistently rated as one of the ten most beautiful gardens in the world. Plenty of formal gardens, streams, pools and paths/bridges.

[paytonc]

I cannot, for the life of me, think of a single activity that I have enjoyed in another city's parks which I cannot have somewhere near me. Granted, it's not all in once place, but it's certainly there.

Manicured gardens, passive gardens, museums, carousel, outdoor concerts and movies, festivals, ice skating, sculptures = Mall
Golf, paddle boats, swimming, tennis, waterfront walkway = Potomac Park
Zoo, rowboats, wildlife = Rock Creek Park

Well, I guess there are no industrial ruins or giant interactive waterfall-fountains such as there are in Minneapolis or Portland. The parks and plazas themselves also usually aren't the best designed spaces, although there are exceptions like Pershing Park (http://tclf.org/landscapes/pershing-park).

My one wish, park-wise, would be safety upgrades to the trails. Otherwise, what this city lacks is not open space, but buildings that would frame, activate, and bracket the PLENTY of open spaces that we already have.

[DCT]

Pity Olmsted never did his magic here? Just take a wild guess as to who designed Rock Creek Park?

When Olmsted originally designed Central Park in NYC it was heavily forested much like Rock Creek Park. Both parks were intended to be a place to escape the city as opposed to being an urban gathering place.

I agree that the Mall has really been spoiled. It really doesn't feel like it's part of or "for" the city. You can't even walk your dog there. The Mall is a National Park.

And yes, we don't have anything quite like a Central Park or a Grant/Millennium Park. However, Rock Creek park and its many tributary parks provide amazing little escapes from the city. I walk the trails in the DC and northern VA parks all the time. These are incredible spaces. Most cities don't have anything like these spaces. You don't find many trees of this age or forests with this type of structure in this part of the eastern US either. It wouldn't change a thing.

[hpal3]

National Arboretum is a nice park/garden as well..

http://www.usna.usda.gov/

[paytonc]

Or heck, this post reminds me:
http://www.thewashcycle.com/2012/01/...te-4-feet.html
RFK Stadium's land is owned by the feds; it's leased to DC under a covenant stating that the site can only be used for "recreation." So now that the stadium is obsolete, there's the space for your Central Park, and you can create it by pulling up pavement rather than chopping down trees.

[aquablue]

Originally Posted by DCT

Pity Olmsted never did his magic here? Just take a wild guess as to who designed Rock Creek Park?

When Olmsted originally designed Central Park in NYC it was heavily forested much like Rock Creek Park. Both parks were intended to be a place to escape the city as opposed to being an urban gathering place.

I agree that the Mall has really been spoiled. It really doesn't feel like it's part of or "for" the city. You can't even walk your dog there. The Mall is a National Park.

And yes, we don't have anything quite like a Central Park or a Grant/Millennium Park. However, Rock Creek park and its many tributary parks provide amazing little escapes from the city. I walk the trails in the DC and northern VA parks all the time. These are incredible spaces. Most cities don't have anything like these spaces. You don't find many trees of this age or forests with this type of structure in this part of the eastern US either. It wouldn't change a thing.

Sorry, you are right about him, I didn't realize. It is just so different from his better parks. It is nothing like Central Park or Prospect Park. There is just woods and trails, no gathering points, no lakes, no fountains, no formal areas, very few open areas of interest. Why on earth did he leave the park so natural?

I hate the woods and those trails you speak of. They are lonely, isolated, and have no views because they are fenced in by trees. The woods are only for some people. I grew up on the ocean, the woods awful in comparison.

Rock Creek is a god damn bore, I hate that place. I can't consider it an urban park really, I consider it a natural river valley and woods with a road through it. It is basically a highway for commuters too.

The Mall is not a substitute for a park. It is a tourist area and nice, but it is not a real park because it is designed to be a monumental showpiece. It has its nice points, but it is too full of busy streets, tourists and museums and boring memorials. Also, it is always in SHITTY shape. Do I need to point out cracked pavements, poor gravel paths, dead fish, ugly fountains, decaying grass?

I.e, Paris has those mall areas, but it also has real public gardens and parks. London too. Without a proper park, DC will never become a truly world class city.


I would redevelop lower RCP into a real city park if I had my vision, leave the upper part natural. IT IS IN A better location than RFK anyway. It is far more central than RFK which is in a horrible area of the city.

Dumbarton Oaks is a formal private garden with a fee, so it doesn't count.

[paytonc]

Originally Posted by aquablue

I like formal parks, with nice landscaping, paths, open areas, ponds, bridges, etc, etc. For me, DC lacks a true park.

As was pointed out above, Constitution Gardens doesn't count? The Arboretum? The US Botanic Garden? The Haupt Garden at the Smithsonian Castle? The new Georgetown Waterfront Park? The Tidal Basin, whose landscaping draws millions of visitors?

The intent behind having the Yards Park and the Washington Canal Park so close to one another is to create a pair of activated, urban green spaces. All the new restaurants that will open around those parks over the next year or so will absolutely ensure that these are populated, urban spaces throughout the year.

Originally Posted by aquablue

I hate the woods... lonely, isolated, and have no views... awful... god damn bore, I hate that place... boring... always in SHITTY shape... poor gravel paths, dead fish, ugly fountains, decaying grass... never become... horrible area... a horrible area of the city.

Hmm. Tell us how you *really* feel while I play this tiny little violin.

The lower part of Rock Creek Park is bisected by a swift river and a river of VIP-driven cars, separated from the adjacent neighborhoods by steep bluffs, prone to flooding, and owned by the negligent NPS. I wouldn't blame the fact that it doesn't fit your notion of "a great urban park" solely on "enviros."

In the meantime, a group is indeed pushing a sports park for RFK's north parking lots. The site isn't much further from the District's geographical center (4th & L NW) than RCP, so it can't be "more central" unless the point of reference is your house. And I regularly bike past Lincoln Park; those lovely $1.5M rowhouses don't exactly scream "horrible horrible horrible area" to me.

I hope you enjoy whining about your new city, wherever that is.