1 Best Sight in Adams Morgan, Washington, D.C.

Landscape architect Horace Peaslee created Meridian Hill Park, a noncontiguous section of Rock Creek Park, after a 1917 study of the parks of Europe. As a result, it contains elements of gardens in France, Italy, and Switzerland. John Quincy Adams lived in a mansion here after his presidency, and the park later served as an encampment for Union soldiers during the Civil War. All 50 states are represented by a state tree or flower. Meridian Hill is unofficially known as Malcolm X Park in honor of the civil rights leader. Weekends bring a mix of pickup soccer games, yoga, joggers running the stairs, and a weekly (weather permitting) drum circle. A statue of Joan of Arc poised for battle on horseback stands above the terrace, and a statue of Dante is on a pedestal below. Cell-phone tours illuminate the history of the landmarks inside the park.