Lincoln Cottage, Armed Forces Retirement Home
Washington, DC

Amidst the tumultuous days of the Civil War President Lincoln and his family sought the Lincoln Cottage and the grounds of the Soldiers' Home as a summer retreat, much like Camp David is used today. It was here that Lincoln spent his evenings after days in the White House, meeting with distinguished people such as abolitionist Frederick Douglass, and where he formulated his thoughts on one of the most important legacies of his presidency, the Emancipation Proclamation. While the Lincoln association with the property was during the Civil War from 1862 to 1864, the landscape design influences at the Solider's Home and former Riggs property span over a century. In 2000, the Lincoln Cottage and Soldiers' Home was designated a National Monument.

Heritage Landscapes is working with Hillier Architecture and the National Trust for Historic Preservation to preserve, adapt and interpret this historic landscape, in anticipation of increased public visitation, as the ideal place to experience Lincoln's presidency. The Historic Landscape Report & Preservation Treatment Plan, completed in 2004, uncovered sufficient documentation for the Lincoln Cottage South Lawn to recommend restoration of missing features and development of an interpretive sequence along curving paths. The visually separate West Yard and North Environs, changed by post-Lincoln era structures, are to be rehabilitated for visitor access and interpreted through selective exposure of historic landscape features as clues to engage visitors in the Lincoln days at the Cottage. Currently Heritage Landscapes is working with the client and team to develop a schematic design for the landscape around the new Visitor Center, former Administration Building. We are considering the arrival sequence, wayfinding, parking, pedestrian sequence and connections to the Lincoln Cottage and its historic landscape.

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