The Ellipse

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock Locked padlock icon ) or means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. The southern trail begins at the White House Visitor Center and proceeds onto the Ellipse grounds in a clockwise walk around the grounds.This page lists some of the features you will find in the park. For areas north of the White House, in Lafayette Park, check out the northern trail . Please note that temporary area closures may occur without notice, which may affect your ability to access areas of the park. This map shows the White House, Ellipse, and Lafayette Park, and the memorials contained therein. The White House Visitor Center is noted at 15th St. & Pennsylvania Avenue NW, east of the White House. Suggested walking routes depart from the White House Visitor Center north up 15th street into Lafayette Square; a second leads south along 15th Street, Constitution Avenue, and through the Ellipse. The White House Visitor Center is operated by the National Park Service and is located at the north end of the Department of Commerce Building in Malcolm Baldrige Hall, originally called the Great Hall. Mr. Baldrige was Secretary of Commerce from 1981 to 1985 during Ronald Reagan's presidency. Construction of the Commerce building began on October 4, 1927, when Herbert C. Hoover was the Secretary of Commerce. The cornerstone was laid on July 10, 1929, when Hoover was President, and the building was completed in 1932. Renovations began in July 1993 with the restoration of the ornate plaster ceiling. The intent was to restore the simple elegance of the Great Hall. The original Indiana limestone walls, bronze doors, Vermont marble base and accent flooring, and Italianate bronze chandeliers were cleaned and refurbished. The White House Historical Association has a museum shop in the Visitor Center. The memorial to the Boy Scouts of America stands on the site of the first Boy Scout Jamboree in 1937. It is one of the few memorials in Washington, D.C. commemorating a living cause. The funds to build this memorial were raised by Scout units throughout the United States, and each donor signed one of several scrolls that were placed in the pedestal of the statue. The memorials was unveiled in a ceremony on November 7, 1964. The statue was accepted for the country by Associate Supreme Court Justice Tom Clark, who noted that the day marked his fiftieth anniversary as an Eagle Scout. The bronze statue consists of three figures. The Boy Scout represents the aspirations of all past, present, and future Scouts throughout the world. The male figure exemplifies physical, mental, and moral fitness, love of country, good citizenship, loyalty, honor, and courage. He carries a helmet, a symbol of masculine attire. The female figure symbolizes enlightenment with the love of God and fellow man, justice, freedom, and democracy. She holds the eternal flame of God's Holy Spirit. The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution donated the Settlers of the District of Columbia Memorial in April 1935 "as a way of teaching history." The simple granite shaft stands near the sidewalk along Fifteenth Street. Its purpose is to remember the original eighteen patentees "prior to 1700 whose land grants embraced the site of the federal city." A patentee is someone to whom a grant is given. In this case, the grant was ownership of land that became the District of Columbia. Built in 1828, these sandstone guardians silently watched over the U.S. Capitol grounds until 1874. In 1889, this gatehouse and its twin, located on Seventeenth Street and Constitution Avenue, were reconstructed in their present locations. These houses have weathered several floods, water, and the effects of acid rain. On the southeast side are markers indicating the high-water marks