Existing comment:
1. First Street Boundary Wall, Fountain, and Lanterns:
Olmsted did not include boundary walls along the perimeter of the Grounds in his original 1874 landscape design. However, in an effort to separate the Capitol's tranquil setting from the bustling city, Olmsted incorporated multicolored stone walls and piers in the construction to define the edge and entrances to the grounds. Piers of pink granite topped with bronze lanterns flank the northern and southern carriage entrances, while richly carved sandstone piers flank the sidewalks that extend Maryland and Pennsylvania Avenues to the west terrace. The boundary walls consist of split-face gneiss at the base, a sandstone belt course, and split-face pink granite topped by a carved sandstone cap. The western boundary was started in 1877 and completed in 1882. A bronze drinking fountain and basin housed in an ornately carved sandstone niche serves as the principal ornamental feature on the west boundary wall and is located on the main axis of the Capitol and National Mall. The temple-like structure, completed in 1878, is constructed of carved sandstone, bluestone and granite. The original sandstone columns were replaced with granite columns in 1918. The bronze lanterns that sit atop ornamented piers were originally fueled by gas, which was ignited by electrical sparks from copper wires connected to a remote battery. The gas fuel source was replaced by electricity in the early 1900s. |