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NPS / Nick Bartolomeo
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Contact: Autumn Cook, 771-215-6954
WASHINGTON — The National Park Service (NPS) has installed a new armillary sphere on the lower plaza of Meridian Hill Park.The new sphere is a replica based on the original armillary sphere approved by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) in 1929 and present in the park from 1932 until the late 1970s. The original sphere was 6 feet 6 inches high, 5 feet 8 inches in diameter, 17.79 feet in circumference and weighed 1,250 pounds. It was the focal point of the southern end of Meridian Hill Park. NPS removed it because of damage and vandalism. The pedestal remained in the park and will serve as the base for the new sphere.
NPS oversaw the re-creation of the new armillary sphere, which was designed using historic photographs and drawings.
"Meridian Hill Park is a beloved park to many Washingtonians," Superintendent Brian Joyner said. "We are committed to revitalizing the park’s historic features and sharing its unique stories with the community."
Armillary spheres are an interpretation of an ancient astronomical instrument first used in China around 200 B.C. Similar spheres were used frequently in Europe during the 7th century to illustrate the theory of the Earth-centered universe.
This project was made possible in part by a grant from the National Park Foundation through the generous support of Roger and Susan Gendron.
About Meridian Hill Park
Meridian Hill Park, also known as Malcolm X Park, was once home to a mansion, a Civil War encampment and was later developed in a French neoclassical (upper level) and Italian Renaissance villa landscape (lower level) design. The park served as a laboratory to experiment with exposed aggregate concrete (concrete made of exposed small pebbles), a revolutionary medium of construction in the early 1900s. Construction of the park began in 1914.
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About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 430+ national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Last updated: November 13, 2024