Built in 1995, the Smithsonian Butterfly Garden supports a variety of plant species which are important to the life cycle of butterflies in the Eastern United States. The 11,000 square foot area was originally built with funds provided by the…

The National Mall and nearby neighborhoods supported the lives of Union troops stationed in the city during the Civil War. This woodcut shows the bakery which was located in the basement of the US Capitol, and was capable of producing 58,000 loaves…

During the Civil War, Mall grounds were used to quarter troops and house a hospital for the wounded. Union soldiers frequently paraded in the vicinity. In this picture, President Abraham Lincoln and General Winfield Scott review a regiment of Union…

Charlotte Dupuy was an enslaved African American woman owned by Congressman and Secretary of State Henry Clay. Clay, with Dupuy and her family, lived in Lafayette Square, just north of the White House. In 1829, Dupuy sued Clay for her freedom and the…

Thomas Jefferson worked with President George Washington to advocate that the nation's capitol be situated on the banks of the Potomac. His sketch of a layout for the federal city is the oldest known plan of Washington, DC, and he shared his ideas…

In February 1792 President George Washington dismissed city planner Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant, who had been hired to design the new capital but continually argued with the Federal City commissioners. One of L'Enfant's most offensive acts was…

In the years preceding the Civil War, the area bordered by Pennsylvania Ave., 15th, and the "open sewer" of the Washington Canal was a slum characterized by rampant prostitution, muggings, and robberies. The population of this area increased during…

General Joseph Hooker commanded the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Though he served throughout the war, reaching the rank of Major General, he is most remembered for suffering a major defeat at the Battle of…

In 1967, Smithsonian Secretary S. Dillon Ripley opened a carousel on the Mall. Built in 1922, the carousel featured music played by a Wurlitzer organ. In the photo, Ripley celebrated its 10th anniversary on the Mall. By 1981, the carousel was too…

For thousands of federal employees, the National Mall is a workplace as well as a public space. The Department of Agriculture, where these women and men worked in 1942, is the only building bordering the Mall exclusively designated as an office, but…