In my last blog post, I mentioned shooting architecture near Meridian Hill Park and the Columbia Heights neighborhood. While I was in the neighborhood, I also spent some time in the park. It's a beautiful park, so I thought I might share a few of my photos from my visit to the park.

I particularly love this tree. When I took this shot, the sun was low and angled from behind, lighting up the canopy from underneath.

Autumn Canopy Meridian Hill Park is a structured urban park in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It's most striking feature is the Italian Renaissance-style terraced fountain in the lower half of the park. (Wikipedia, Meridian Hill Park (as of November 20, 2012).) The light was a bit harsh when I took this photo, but I thought it was really nice to see all these people out reading along the side of the fountain.

Meridian Hill Cascade Tranquil Fountain Recent history relating to the park is quite fascinating. Apparently, the park used to be quite dangerous: "In the 1970s and 80s, crime became widespread in the surrounding neighborhoods. Meridian Hill Park became a haven for drug dealing and was considered unsafe, especially at night. After renewed community interest in the surrounding area began occurring about 1990, a group of citizens formed 'Friends of Meridian Hill Park'. They organized volunteer nighttime patrols to combat crime, and lobbied the National Park Service to make improvements to the park. Since 2005 the Park Service has been working on a general restoration, repairing and replacing the unique concrete structures as necessary, and replacing key utility systems.". (Id.) I find the actions of the volunteers inspiring. Today, the park is quite beautiful and safe. Meridian Fountain