Much like the food trucks that line the Mall today, food wagons in the late 1800s catered to office workers and tourists. Here a wagon offering "Hot Waffles 6 for 5c" sits on the Mall near the southside of the Treasury Department building.

During the 1800s the White House was much more accessible than it is today and informal social events were often held at the executive mansion. In this photo, a group is picnicking on the White House grounds with the Treasury Department building…

In June 1939, carpenters and laborers working on construction projects throughout Washington went on strike, including many building the Jefferson Memorial. Work on the Memorial and other public projects stopped for nearly 3 weeks due to the strikes.…

The Washington Post published an article highlighting the contributions of laborers who built the Washington Monument. The article included an illustration of the individuals profiled and revealed their occupational backgrounds. Some worked on ships…

French was a sculptor whose best-known work in Washington, DC, is the statue of President Abraham Lincoln inside the Lincoln Memorial. He also sculpted the statue of Victory which tops the First Division Monument in President’s Park. From 1910-1915,…

In June 1970, the Black Panther Party held a rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial promoting the proposed "Revolutionary People's Constitutional Convention," to be held that September in Philadelphia. The goal of the Convention was to rewrite…

In 1930, the US Army landed an open gondola blimp at the Lincoln Memorial, on a special trip to honor Lincoln's Birthday. Upon landing, the blimp's pilots placed a wreath at the Memorial. US Army blimps occasionally flew over Washington during…

In the 1920s, the land on the western end of the Mall was transformed from a field into the planned landscape surrounding the newly-built Lincoln Memorial, designed by architect James Greenleaf. In this photo, a two-person team tills the land near…

The National Park Service employs many special maintenance teams to keep the Mall beautiful. Their role is to preserve the monuments and maintain the landscapes. Landscapers care for the grounds and remove 3-4 tons of trash daily. A special crew…

Foot traffic from 25 million annual visitors is hard on the Mall’s natural resources. In 2017, the National Park Service completed a restoration project that re-engineered a total of 18 acres of turf between 3rd and 14th Streets to ensure…