- State:
- WASHINGTON-DC
- Site Type:
- Parks and Recreation, Paths and Trails, Landscaping and Tree Planting
- New Deal Agencies:
- Public Works Administration (PWA), Public Works Funding
- Started:
- 1935
- Completed:
- 1935
- Quality of Information:
- Good
- Marked:
- No
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
In 1935, the Public Works Administration (PWA) funded renovations for Marion Park, southeast of the Capitol, such as sidewalk repair, landscaping, and so forth. Marion Park was first established in 1886, but like other parks in the district had suffered neglect for many years.
The New Deal undertook a major program of parks improvement across the city in the 1930s with input from the PWA, Civil Works Administration (CWA), Works Progress Administration (WPA) and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). It is likely that the labor for Marion Park improvements was provided by the WPA.
Marion park has recently been the scene of controversy, as John McCabe, a financial adviser from South Carolina, led an effort to construct a monument to Revolutionary War hero and slaveowner Francis Marion, a.k.a. the Swamp Fox. The proposed memorial stirred opposition in the historically African-American neighborhood (now greatly gentrified).
Source notes
“Parks loan of $800,000 is approved,” Washington Post, June 15, 1935, p. 15
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