Alerts & Announcements

In response to an outpouring of thousands of concerned community residents and organizations, mobilized by the Keep Malcolm X Park Open Coalition, the National Park Service announced at a meeting this week at Parks & People's Josephine Butler Parks Center that the Park will remain accessible to the public throughout the planned $15 million of restoration work on the Park's fountains, landscape, benches, hardscape, lighting, and statues.

NPS had previously announced that the grassy area in the upper part of the park would be closed for grass restoration from March through September. This announcement was not posted in the park or through any social media channels, and in response to community concern, NPS updated the timeline to open the grass areas of the park by mid-June.

The federal government has not yet provided the public with all of the information about the restoration work and timelines, as it is not permitted to share contract scopes of work for example. Here's what we know:

As of early April, most of the lawn areas remain open, though part of the northern lawn section is fenced off for restoration work and the large grass panels will soon be blocked off for three months to overhaul the turf. NPS has committed to keeping all paved areas of the park’s upper section open to the public, including the area near the Joan of Arc statue which is home to the drum circle.

The east walk of the Lower Gardens, the southern base of the park, and the sloping lawns between 15th St and the Cascade waterfall also remain open to the public, though all other areas of the Lower Gardens will remain inaccessible until June while repairs are completed.

Here are key areas of planned restoration work that we know about, all set to be completed by July 3 at the very latest:

• Restore the Cascade, Reflecting Pool, and Stairway niche fountains (including new pump, plumbing, and sealants to stop leaks in the Reflecting Pool);
• Install new fescue grass sod on the Upper Level's entire two large lawn panels (possibly including new topsoil, grading, and revived irrigation);
• Remove two large dying trees from Upper Level;
• Prune trees, shrubs, and hedges throughout the entire park;
• Restore all cypress benches;
• Remove graffiti;
• Restore lighting throughout;
• Clean and repair historic concrete walls and walks;
• Clean and restore Dante and Buchanan sculptures.

The community will be helping the restoration work in many ways. Park supporters are also pressing for diverse additional work throughout the Park.

For more information or to join the campaign to help the park be open to all for generations to come, write to info@washingtonparks.net or keepmxplawnopen@gmail.com.