a gem of a park ... unfortunately it is made out of pebbles

My last reflection that had been overlooked in the past month or so was my little excursion to a park in my neighborhood. Meridian Hill Park is a beautiful Italian style garden park with balustrades (which I love), alcoves, stairways, balconies, and a large stepped fountain. The design is just great! I have been meaning to take a walk through it since it is only 6 or so blocks from my house and now that the weather was getting nice, I decided to do it one Saturday morning.


This is the classic photo of the fountain that everyone takes. It is built on a hill so the water cascades down 13 different steps or basins. I was hoping for some more flowers around the sides of the pools ... sadly it wasn't living up to its glory at the moment.


Water is such an interesting thing to watch or photograph - catching the movement in one moment as it breaks over the edge!

My only other complaint about Meridian Hill park (besides the lack of up keep on cleanliness and on planting) is that the stunning architecture is composed of concrete aggregate ... apparently it was an experiment ... who thought that was a good idea?! I hate it. I want a clean smooth service ... it looks outdated, not classic like the forms it has been shaped into.

The over all view of the water feature ... cascading down the hill. Very beautiful. Can you believe that this is in the middle of DC?

I love that there were these banisters on the stairways - it makes the garden feel like a room or an extension of your living space. It feels very romantic, like a fairytale. Couldn't you just picture running down these steps in a ball gown and into the arms of prince charming? (Ok - I just lost half my readers in this moment - sorry, I am done now!)

I had to take a picture of the balustrades up close to show you how sad it is that it is made out of concrete aggregate! What a crime of aesthetics! In case you don't know - concrete aggregate consists of small pebbles specially selected for size and color from which forms are pulled while the surface is still susceptible to treatment. Wire brushing and acid washing are then used to expose the texture. YUCK!


Meridian Hill Park has the only female equestrian statue in DC - it's Joan of Arc of course. You all know by now how much I love oxidized bronze ... its so green, runny, and pretty. I like the angles I could get too of this statue since it was so high up.


This fountain is very much like the large fountains in St. Peter's Square in Rome outside the Vatican. The Italians are so good - I love how the large scale compliments the details found in everything.