• Landscape Architecture
• Urban Design
• Planning
• Historic Preservation
  • George Mason National Memorial
  • Steamtown National Historic Site
  • U.S. Capitol Summer House
  • Monroe Park
• Sustainable Design
• Community Participation
• International / Security Design

U.S. Capitol Summer House

"The Mall's Hidden Oasis"

Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the Summer House is a small, hexagonal-shaped structure completed in 1881 on the U.S. Capitol grounds. The building is set along the hillside of the West Front Lawn, and was intended as a place for respite with stone seating, an ornamental fountain, and a small grotto with flowing water. Working with architect Beyer Blinder Belle, Rhodeside & Harwell designed landscape renovations for this historic shelter, carefully balancing program requirements with Olmsted’s original design intent.

Publications

"The Washington Outsider," Landscape Architecture

"...the Summer House is a blessing for travelers lucky enough to stumble upon it...a perfect refuge from sultry summer days." -The Washington Post