After a seven-year drought, the fountains at Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park are flowing again, bringing longtime visitors and first-time observers alike back to a historic Northwest D.C. landmark.
On Friday, water returned to the cascades at Meridian Hill Park, and for many visitors the change felt bigger than a simple repair. People lingered in the sunshine, smiled for photos, and watched the fountains spill down one of the longest multi-basin cascades in the region.
The 11-acre National Historic Landmark sits along 16th Street NW between Euclid and W streets. and in Northwest Washington it’s known as both Meridian Hill Park and Malcolm X Park.. After a seven-year dry spell. the fountain system is finally running again. turning the park’s 13-basin cascade back into a visible feature of the neighborhood.
Phyllis Blair, who has lived in D.C.. for 40 years, said the moment brought back memories she thought she’d nearly lost.. “I’ve forgotten how beautiful it was,” she said while watching water spill down the long run of the fountain.. “It’s so refreshing.” Blair brought her dog. Cooper. and planned to photograph the renewed fountains for neighbors who have moved away.
Near the reflecting pool, Tyrone Austin pointed his gaze upward as the top of the fountain sent water flowing again.. “I love it, I love it, I love it!” he said.. Austin. a lifelong Washingtonian. recalled hunting for Easter eggs in the park as a child and said the idea of the site being restored is something the whole community can feel.. “Just the thought of it being remodeled is a great pleasure to the whole community,” he said.
For some, though, the sight wasn’t nostalgia—it was their first look.. Reiland Brown. who has lived near the bottom of the park for the past year. said Friday was the first day he’d seen the fountains operating with water.. “This is my first day seeing it with water actually working.. It looks so beautiful.. I didn’t even realize that much water in an area could exist,” Brown said.
Zach Streit, a Georgetown Law student who lives nearby, watched from above the fountain in near disbelief. He said he visits the park often but had never seen the water running. “It’s like Europe or something,” Streit said. “It’s a gorgeous park.”
Several visitors credited the National Park Service with the work, pointing to the more than $10 million in repairs. They also said the project is part of President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at beautifying the nation’s capital.
Not all parts of the park are fully open. The upper lawn is partially closed while the NPS restores the area’s grass turf. The closure will remain in place with fencing through the summer, even as the fountains draw crowds back into the historic landscape.
Meridian Hill Park Malcolm X Park fountains National Park Service D.C. parks drought ends Northwest Washington repairs National Historic Landmark
So they finally turned the water on… about time. I’m sure it’s fine now.
Wait it’s been 7 years?? That’s wild. I thought fountains are like automatic or whatever. Also didn’t hear about this until some dude told me, sounds like Trump did it but also NPS??
I read “executive order” and thought this means they forced the fountains to work again lol. Like water has feelings. But seriously that price tag is crazy, $10 million for water running for a bit?? Hope they don’t shut it off again.
That park is right by where I used to walk to the metro, and I remember it being dry… but I swear some parts were still wet? Like maybe not the big part? Anyway if they reopened stuff and put grass back cool. It’s honestly kinda depressing that it took years, but at least now people taking photos again and dogs are probably happy.