Japanese Stone Lantern Plaza Proposal for Public Comment April 2012

The purpose of this project is to enhance visitor experience at the Japanese Stone Lantern and first cherry tree grove located on the northwestern edge of the Tidal Basin, south of Independence Avenue. The 360-year-old Japanese lantern was given to the United States by Japan in 1954 to commemorate the anniversary of Commodore Perry's opening of American trade with Japan. The lantern, and grove of cherry trees, are listed on the National Register. A lantern lighting ceremony occurs at the site during the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival. Near the lantern, a plaque commemorating the First Cherry Tree Planting in 1912 was dedicated in 1950. It is not listed on the National Register, but is managed as a cultural resource.

Currently, the lantern and plaque are not easily accessible from the pathway. Visitation to the plaque has caused erosion within the tree root zone and undermining of the plaque. The proposed project seeks to draw visitors to the lantern and plaque in a way that preserves the association of these features to the cherry tree grove while protecting the historic trees. To further enhance this collection of site features as symbols of Japanese – American understanding, the Japanese designers would like to give visitors the feel of a traditional Zen garden. (See artist rendering.)

Specifically, the project consists of:
(1) installation of a granite plaza at the lantern; the hand-tooled surface joint will evoke the "raked" sand surface of a traditional Zen garden (see granite paver sample).
(2) construction of a new, hardscape path leading to the plaza from the main Tidal Basin pathway; (3) relocation of the first cherry tree plaque to the western edge of the plaza; and
(4) placement of stone boulders and grasses around the lantern and plaza.

The park will be accepting comments through 11:59 PM on April 24th, 2012. Click on "Comment on Document," above, to submit your comments.

Document Content:

Existing conditions photos   (901.3 KB, PDF file) Granite paver sample   (499.4 KB, Image file) Proposed plaza location   (614.3 KB, PDF file) Artist rendering of proposed plaza and path   (236.4 KB, PDF file) Disclaimer: Links within the above document(s) were valid as of the date published. Note: Some of the files may be in PDF format and can be viewed using the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. You may download a free copy of from Adobe Systems.