The Ellipse

History

The park was first planned in 1791 by Pierre Charles L'Enfant and was originally known as "the White Lot" because of its whitewashed wooden fence. During the American Civil War, the grounds and the incomplete Washington Monument were used as corrals for livestock and camps for Union troops. In 1860, the Ellipse became the regular playing field for the Washington Senators and hosted the first game between the Senators and the Washington Nationals.

A baseball tournament in 1865 featured the Philadelphia Athletics, with viewing stands and paid admission. Black baseball teams like the Washington Mutuals and Washington Alerts used the White Lot until 1874, when Blacks were banned. The Army Corps of Engineers began work in 1867, and the park was landscaped in 1879 with American elms planted along the roadway. Grading in 1880 transformed what had been a dump into the Ellipse, and electric lamps were installed in 1894.

In the 1890s, Congress allowed special groups such as religious meetings and military encampments to use the grounds. Baseball fields and tennis courts existed as late as 1990. President's Park South came under National Park Service jurisdiction in 1933. President Calvin Coolidge began the tradition of lighting the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse on Christmas Eve 1923.

From 1924 to 1953, live trees elsewhere were lit, but the ceremony returned to the Ellipse in 1954 as the "Christmas Pageant of Peace." Cut trees were used from 1954 to 1972; a planted Colorado blue spruce in 1973 and its 1977 replacement died. A 1978 replacement lived until a wind storm destroyed it on February 19, 2011, and its 2011 replacement succumbed to transplant shock in 2012.

Events

Annual events on the Ellipse include the Christmas Pageant of Peace and formerly the "Twilight Tattoo" military pageant. It served as the commencement site for The George Washington University from 1992 to 2005 and is the queueing location for the White House Easter Egg Roll and garden tours. The Capital Alumni Network and military sports leagues play softball and flag football there, and ultimate competitions are held in warmer months. The Ellipse Visitor Pavilion, opened in May 1994, distributes free tickets for White House events and offers an information window, concession area, restrooms, telephones, water fountains, and a first aid area.