During the Rock Creek cataloging project, I have had a chance to travel to many different corners of the park, and I have discovered a lot of lesser-known places and landmarks within it.  Here are a few of them.  Click on the thumbnails below to see the full-size images; please have patience while the images load.

One of the best-known structures within the park is Peirce Mill, a grist mill constructed by a local landowner in the 1820's and operated by the Park Service as a working mill from 1936 until 1993.  This springhouse is located on the same property, and was built by the mill owner.

This is a memorial to Jules Jusserand, an ambassador to the United States from France in the early 20th Century (1903-1925) who often hiked in the park with Theodore Roosevelt.  It is called the "Jusserand Bench."  It was designed by Joseph Freedlander.  Interestingly, it is the only memorial located in the park (Washington has lots of monuments, of course, but this is the only one actually located within the boundaries of Rock Creek Park).  At the time of the memorial's dedication in 1936, the park managers were concerned that it would be the first monument of many, but today, it remains the only one.  

These are two images of the famous stepped fountain in Meridian Hill Park, which is located a little east of the rest of the park, in the Adams Morgan and Mount Pleasant neighborhoods along 16th Street.  It was designed by landscape architect George Burnap to imitate gardens and parks in Italy.  The park is called Malcolm X Park by some local residents.

In 1883, the famous nature poet Joaquin Miller built this cabin in what is now Meridian Hill Park.  It has since been moved to a different site within Rock Creek Park, near a picnic area.  The new site is still used for poetry readings to this day.  The creek itself flows by just behind this cabin.  

  Click here to return to the museum cataloging page  This page was designed by Tony Porco, and was last updated on February 20, 2006.  Click here for the Rock Creek Park administrative history page, which was one source of information for this page.