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The Historic Landscape Revived When completed, the East Front of the Capitol and its Grounds will more closely resemble the 1874 Frederick Law Olmsted vision than is true of the grounds as they existed before construction began early in 2002. The asphalt parking lot that marred what was intended as a park-like setting will be replaced by a gracious granite plaza offering visitors places to sit, linger and enjoy views of the Capitol. Reflecting pools will surround two large skylights and compliment the original Olmsted fountains, which have been dormant since the 1970s, but will become fully operational upon completion of the project. More trees will be planted than were removed as part of the project and pedestrians will no longer compete with cars and trucks to enter the Capitol. In addition, the dramatic views intended by the Olmsted plan will be revived including the center approach from the east, which will be lined by two double rows of trees on both sides.
Tree Preservation It is impossible to build a project of such scope and complexity and completely avoid some adverse effects on the Grounds during the construction phase. However, the Capitol Visitor Center has been carefully conceived and designed to keep these impacts to a minimum.
Of the 68 trees that were removed to clear the project footprint for construction, more than 75 percent of them were old and in serious decline. For example, most of the tulip poplars lining East Capitol Street were nearly 70 percent hollow and would have soon posed a serious safety hazard for people lingering below. In fact, of the 17 trees planted on either side of East Capitol Street in the 1870s, only nine remained on the House side and only 11 on the Senate side. It would have been impossible to re-establish the grand allees of trees without first removing the old ones. When the new landscape is completed, 85 new trees will be planted, 17 more than were removed. Of the 13 memorial trees within the project footprint, eight were successfully transplanted. The other five were deemed too sick or old to survive the stress of a transplant. In all 13 cases however, arborists took cuttings from the original memorial trees so that the direct offspring of those trees could be planted on the East Capitol Grounds. If these efforts fail, the usual procedure to replace a memorial tree that dies a natural death will be followed: an excellent, robust specimen, usually of the same species, will become the replacement memorial tree.
Most of the remaining 86 memorial trees on the Capitol Grounds will not be directly affected by the project. Those not affected include the Lady Bird Johnson Kousa dogwood tree, a pair of oaks planted in honor of two former Speakers, and five crab apple trees planted to honor the Sullivan brothers. Others will be among the eight moved, including the Pat Nixon magnolia, the Liberty Elm, the Speaker Albert redbud, and the Martin Luther King Jr. “elm.” (Actually, this elm died of natural causes and was replaced in 1993 by a Zelkova, and the Speaker Albert redbud is a replacement for the original memorial tree that also died, which highlights the fact that all these trees have finite life spans). We also are relocating nine non-memorial trees, and will replant others lost in the construction project – more than a quarter of which are nearing the end of their natural lives and would be replaced soon in any event.
Capitol Visitor Center Tree Facts
| Overall Tree Numbers | | | Total Trees on Capitol Square | 920 | | Total Trees on East Front | 346 | | Total Trees Removed | 68 | | Total Trees Transplanted | 8 | | Total New Trees to Be Planted | 85 |
| Memorial Tree Numbers | | | Total Memorial Trees on Capitol Square | 99 | | Total Memorial Trees on East Front | 85 | | Total Memorial Trees Affected | 13 | | Memorial Trees Transplanted | 8 | | Memorial Trees Removed | 5 |
Transplanted Memorial Trees - Southern Magnolia - Magnolia grandiflora - planted April 10, 1973 - gift from the Ladies of the Senate to Mrs. Richard Nixon
- Tulip Poplar - Liriodendron tulipifera - planted March 27, 1978 - Liberty Tree seedling - sponsor Sen. Charles Mathias)
- Tulip Poplar - Liriodendron tulipifera - planted May 26, 1981 - South Carolina Forestry Assoc. - sponsor Sen. Strom Thurmond)
- Japanese Zelkova - Zelkova serrata - originally was an American Elm Planted January 9, 1984 – died/transplanted Zelkova as replacement 1993 - in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Tulip Poplar - Liriodendron tulipifera - planted May 29, 1986 - in honor of Rep. Barber B. Conable, Jr.
- Little Leaf Linden - Tilia cordata - planted July 14, 1987 - in memory of Sen. Edward Zorinsky - Planted by Mrs. Edward Zorinsky
- Liberty Elm - Ulmus americana `Libertas’ - planted October 22, 1993 - State of Massachusetts - sponsor Sen. Edward Kennedy
- Redbud - Cercis canadensis - originally planted December 9, 1976 – died/ replanted October 14, 1992 - in honor of Speaker Carl Albert
Memorial Trees Removed - Red Oak - Quercus borealis - planted November 18, 1963 - in honor of Rep. James C. Auchincloss (New Jersey) - fair condition but is in decline and has a lot of dieback
- Sugar Maple - Acer saccharum - planted April 2, 1973 - State of Wisconsin - sponsor Sen. Gaylord Nelson) - very good condition and looking into the possibility of moving
- Hybrid “Autumn Gold” Elm - Ulmus sapporo `Autumn Gold’ - planted April 29, 1977 - National Arbor Day - sponsors Rep. Hamilton Fish, Sen. Jacob K. Javits and Rep. Frederick W. Richmond - good condition, likely immovable due to location and size but are looking into the possibility of moving
- Sugar Maple - Acer saccharum - planted December 4, 1980 - in honor of retirement of Rep. Harley O. Staggers - sponsor Rep. John Dingell - fair condition and with basal decay (trunk damage and decay at base of tree)
- Pin Oak - Quercus palustris - Planted 1917 - Rep. Joseph Taggart - in poor condition and in decline
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