Leiter Estate Landscaping – Washington DC

Description

The Civilian Conservation Corps built park amenities and landscaped portions of the Leiter Estate in 1936-1937. A National Parks Service/Historic American Buildings Survey report describes the nature of the work performed by the CCC: “Upon acquiring the Leiter estate, the NPS planned to turn the acreage ‘into a public recreation area…form[ing] a section of the George Washington Memorial Parkway.’ Enrollees from Camp NP-6-VA (Fort Hunt) engaged in ‘selective cutting to open up desirable vistas of the river.’ In addition to creating view sheds, they further enhanced visitor amenities with the construction of 2.5 miles of foot trails and fifteen table-and-bench combinations, five of which were completed in February 1937. This work probably occurred in what is now Turkey Run Park.”