Folger Park
Folger Park is a quiet and historic green space located in Washington, DC’s Capitol Hill. It offers a peaceful setting with plenty of benches, good shade, and an open grassy area suitable for small dogs and picnics. The park is wheelchair accessible and family-friendly. While parking is limited to street parking and there are no public restrooms, it remains a clean and pleasant spot. The park has some historical significance and retains elements like old fountains and benches, though some facilities could use updates.
Reviews
A nice park on Capitol Hill in Washington DC.
The only thing I don’t like is too many miscreants smoking pot in public, they need to pollute at home. Moms & dad w babies always having to walk their strollers through drug clouds.
Great little green space with lots of benches. Would be good for throwing a ball or disc around and for picnics. It lost a star for not having a public toilet, but there’s a Starbucks on 3rd if you’re discreet.
Folger Park is named after former Secretary of the Treasury Charles J Folger, who toiled in the Chester Arthur administration before dying on the job. The open space was part of the L’Enfant plan modified by Ellicot. It was later to include the fountain benches, which while no longer functional, are still present almost 100 years after their installation. The South Block appears to be part of this park, but it is not. This current green space was the former location of Providence Hospital (est. 1861) and Folger Park was then known as Providence Hospital Square. Built just 6 weeks before the Battle of Bill Run, it played a major role in the care of wounded and dying soldiers far exceeding its capabilities requiring outdoor temporary facilities to be constructed – pretty much all the green space within view had hospital tents on it. So much so, that the Capitol Hill district was often referred to as Bloody Hill. The hospital was moved in the 1950’s and the building was demolished leaving you with the green space present today.
Nice quiet urban park though I’ve mostly stayed in the north section. Very open but also a good amount of shade. The grass tends to grow pretty long between cuts but it’s not a big deal.
The park is right on the hill a couple of blocks behind the James Madison bldg. It’s quiet enough and kept pretty clean. The grounds and benches could use some attention to update it. Parking can be a chore as there is only street parking. But it’s a good place to take a small dog or bring food for quick lunch.