The Smithsonian’s new National Museum of African American History & Culture opens on September 24 – the latest structure to be added to the National Mall in DC. The Washington Post this week published a series of maps that depict the 200-year evolution of the Mall, from swamp to canals to a railway station to “temporary” WW II offices that stuck around until the 1970s.
Excerpts from the excellent article are below. The full story and 8 intriguing maps can be found here.
The Mall in 1860, before land was reclaimed for the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials and when a canal snaked to within blocks of the capital:
The Mall in 1940, when temporary WW II offices crowded the north side of the reflecting pool:
The Mall today, with the addition of the new National Museum of African American History & Culture immediately to the northeast of the Washington Monument:
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