National Mall facts for kids

View from the back of the United States Capitol, facing west across the Mall. In front of the statue of the horse is the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial. The Washington Monument is in the background.

The National Mall, often just called the Mall, is a large open park in the center of Washington, D.C.. It is home to many famous museums, like the Smithsonian and the National Gallery of Art. The Mall stretches between the United States Capitol building and the Washington Monument. These two famous landmarks are about one mile apart.

The National Mall is a very popular place. People visit it for exercise, fun recreation, music concerts, and big festivals. It is also a common spot for protests and rallies. Many tourists come to see it too. Over 25 million people visit the Mall every year!

What is the National Mall?
History of the Mall
Events and Gatherings
Museums and Monuments
Places Near the Mall
Images for kids
See also

What is the National Mall?

Officially, the National Mall is the area between the U.S. Capitol and the Washington Monument. However, there is another park right next to it. This park goes from the Washington Monument all the way to the Lincoln Memorial. It includes the famous Reflecting Pool. Many important monuments and museums are also in this area. Because of this, most people think of this whole larger area as the National Mall.

The National Mall is filled with many beautiful trees. Most of them are elm and cherry trees. The lovely cherry blossom trees were a special gift to the United States from Japan. They were given in 1912.

History of the Mall

Looking at the Washington Monument and the reflecting pool from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Pierre L'Enfant was the person who planned the city of Washington D.C. He had a dream of having a big park in the middle of the city. But the National Mall was not always a park like it is today.

In the 19th century, a railroad track actually ran right through the Mall. Cows also used to graze, or eat grass, on the Mall. There was even a large market on one side of the area. During the American Civil War, many buildings were put up on the Mall. There were even places where animals were prepared for food.

In 1901, the Senate passed something called the McMillan Plan. This plan helped to clean up the National Mall. It also moved the railroad tracks to Union Station. This helped turn the Mall into the beautiful park we see today.

Events and Gatherings

Many exciting events happen at the National Mall. The National Park Service says that over 3,000 events take place there each year. Most of these are tours for visitors. Some of the biggest yearly events include the Cherry Blossom Festival. There is also the National Book Festival and an Earth Day festival. Big parades are held on Veteran's Day and Independence Day.

Important protests and rallies also happen at the National Mall. One of the most famous was the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. During this event, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous I Have a Dream speech. A rally in 1969 to end the Vietnam War was the biggest protest ever on the Mall. Over 2 million people came and marched to the White House. In 1995, the Million Man March was also held on the Mall.

Museums and Monuments

The National Mall is home to many important museums and monuments. Here are some of them:

This USGS picture of the National Mall was taken by a satellite on April 26, 2002. The Capitol on the right was made blurry for security reasons before being released.

Places Near the Mall

Many other important places are very close to the National Mall. The Library of Congress and the United States Supreme Court building are just east of the Capitol. The White House, the National Archives, and the Old Post Office are just north. Ford's Theater, where Abraham Lincoln was killed, is also north.

The National Postal Museum and Union Station are to the northeast. To the south, you can find the Jefferson Memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

Images for kids

Map of the National Mall and vicinity (2008)
National Mall proper and adjacent areas (April 2002). The Mall had a grassy lawn flanked on each side by unpaved paths and rows of American elm trees as its central feature. (Numbers in the image correspond to numbers in the list of landmarks, museums and other features below.)
Andrew Downing Jackson Urn in May 2012
Facing east on the National Mall, as viewed near the 1300 block of Jefferson Drive, S.W. in April 2010. Rows of American elm trees line the sides of a path traversing the length of the Mall.
West side of the U.S. Capitol building (September 2013)
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in July 2005, facing east towards the Washington Monument
The view of the Lincoln Memorial from the Reflecting Pool in April 2007.
National World War II Memorial (July 2017)
The west side of the Jefferson Pier in April 2011, with the Washington Monument in the background.
Rows of young American elm trees on the National Mall, looking east from the top of the Washington Monument circa 1942
This view from the top of the Washington Monument shows rows of elm trees lining the Reflecting Pool (November 2014).
Portrait of the Mall and vicinity looking northwest from southeast of the U.S. Capitol circa 1846-1855, showing stables in the foreground, the Washington City Canal behind them, the Capitol on the right and the Smithsonian "Castle", the Washington Monument and the Potomac River in the distant left.
The Lockkeeper's House in 2018, looking northwest
Route of the Washington City Canal, showing the Mall (1851)
The Smithsonian Institution Building ("The Castle") in February 2007, looking north from the Enid A. Haupt Garden
Map of the Mall in 1893 showing the Monument Grounds, Agricultural Grounds, Smithsonian Grounds, Armory Square, Public Grounds and Botanical Garden, as well as parts of the recently created "Tidal Reservoir" and "Proposed Park"
Eastward view of the National Mall from the top of the Washington Monument in 1918. The three structures and two chimneys crossing the Mall are temporary World War I buildings A, B and C and parts of their central power plant.
Westward view from the top of the Washington Monument in 1943 or 1944 during World War II. In the foreground, temporary buildings on the Washington Monument grounds house the Navy's Bureau of Ships. The Main Navy and Munitions Buildings stand to the right of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Temporary buildings to the left of the Reflecting Pool house the Navy's Bureau of Supplies and Accounts.
Uncle Beazley on the National Mall between 1980 and 1994
National Park Service map showing the National Mall's designated reserve area referenced in the 2003 Commemorative Works Clarification and Revision Act
Barricade blocking walkway adjacent to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool during the 2013 federal government shutdown, looking east toward the Washington Monument undergoing repair
Aerial view of the Mall facing west between 1980 and 1999
Looking east from the top of the Washington Monument towards the National Mall and the United States Capitol in December 1999
2007 aerial view of Capitol Hill and the National Mall, facing west
Inlay of L'Enfant Plan in Freedom Plaza, looking northwest in June 2005 from the observation deck in the Old Post Office Building Clock Tower
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (June 2010)
National Christmas Tree (November 28, 2018)
A Christmas tree in front of the Capitol in December of 2013.
Tidal Basin and Jefferson Memorial at dusk, facing south in October 2011.
L'Enfant Promenade (August 2013)
1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on the National Mall facing east from the Lincoln Memorial
The first inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20, 2009, facing west from the Capitol
Independence Day fireworks display between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, July 4, 1986
The April 9, 1939, concert by Marian Anderson, facing east from the Lincoln Memorial
Britney Spears performs during the "NFL Kickoff Live from the National Mall Presented by Pepsi Vanilla" concert, September 4, 2003
The Concert for Valor on the National Mall on November 11, 2014, looking west from the United States Capitol grounds
The Smithsonian station on the Washington Metro in 2005
1863 photograph of the National Mall and vicinity during the Civil War, looking west towards the U.S. Botanical Garden, Washington City Canal, Gas Works, railroad tracks, Washington Armory, and Armory Square Hospital buildings. The Smithsonian Institution Building, the uncompleted Washington Monument (behind the Smithsonian's building), and the Potomac River are in the background.
The Victorian landscaping and architecture of the Mall looking east from the top of the Washington Monument, showing the influence of the Downing Plan and Adolph Cluss on the National Mall circa 1904. The Department of Agriculture Building, and above it, "The Castle", are in the foreground. A railroad route leading to a shed attached to the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad station (not visible) crosses the Mall behind the Arts and Industry Building, the Army Medical Center, and the Armory.
Looking east from the top of the Washington Monument towards the United States Capitol in the summer of 1901. The Mall exhibited the Victorian-era landscape of winding paths and random plantings that Andrew Jackson Downing designed in the 1850s
The Armory as a hospital during the Civil War
Department of Agriculture Building (circa 1895)
Center Market circa 1875, looking northwest from The Mall
Center Market between 1910 and 1930, looking southwest from 7th Street NW (at left)
Arts and Industries Building, looking southwest (March 2017)
Baltimore and Potomac Railroad station, looking southwest from 6th Street NW (at bottom and left)
Army Medical Museum and Library, looking northeast from Independence Avenue SW
Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool before reconstruction (April 2010)
Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool undergoing reconstruction (June 2011)
Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool undergoing reconstruction (December 2011)
Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after reconstruction (May 2016)
Axis of National Mall before restoration (July 2012)
Axis of National Mall undergoing restoration (April 2015)
Axis of National Mall undergoing restoration (October 2015)
Aerial view of National Mall, Looking South