Visit the washington, d. C. Tidal basin to see the Cherry Blossoms. Memorials to Thomas Jefferson, Franklin D Roosevelt and Martin Luther jr stand on its banks. The tidal basin started as an engineering project, but has also served as a swimming hole, a protest ground and scene of a political scandal. National mall and Memorial Communications chief met us on site to talk about the areas history and famous japanese cherry trees. We are at the edge of. The tidal basin in washington, d. C. Home to the world famous cherry trees which blossom every spring. Wellknown to washingtonians, people across, the country, and in fact, people across the world. But had you been here before 1890 or so . We would be in the middle of the potomac river. This area has evolved over the years. Theres always been an element of recreation out around the tidal basin. But with passing of time recurring, fashion has become much more important than initially was. Now, as early as 1890, there was an established swimming area around what we know today as the tidal basin. With the planting of the cherry trees originally in 1912, that really created interest and tourism and visitation around tidal basin and throughout the years as more and more memorials have been designed and built along the tidal basin, we have seen to the numbers today where millions of visitors a year make a trip for Recreational Purposes to the tidal basin area. This area was reclaimed and dredged by the u. S. Army corps of engineers starting about 1891 to create a pond, a basin of sorts that would operate off of the tides, hence the name the tidal basin. And it was to serve two purposes. They were looking for something to act as a visual centerpiece for the city, much like the mall. And they were looking for something that they could turn, that they could harness tides to help flush Washington Channel of sediment and debris every day. The the channel is a narrow waterway between the shoreline of washington, d. C. And what is today East Potomac Park. Sediments and silt builds and to keep it navigable they developed this tidal basin so that twice a day 250 million gallons of water is released from the tidal basin down through the channel and flushes the sediment away. There are two bridges that give access, the tidal basin. There is the inlet where the water comes in and there is the outlet bridge where. The water goes out. Each those bridges has gates on the underside of them. The tidal action closes inlet gates in the morning. The tidal basin is full at same time. The tidal action opens the outlet gate and, lets the water go out and as the tides change each day, day in and day out, the tidal action opens, closes the gates to let the water in and let the water out. The cherry trees were the inspiration of washington writer by the name of eliza skidmore. She had visited japan in. 1884 and seen the cherry trees there, had seen what a what a wonderful scene. They create every spring and and how important they were to japanese culture. So when she returned to washington, she attempted to get a Similar Program underway here. Her efforts fell on deaf ears for the better part of a quarter a century until she was able enlist the aid of first lady helen taft, who and helped her advance the cause. The cherry trees were planted in 1912. A gift. The people of tokyo on. Fortunately, there is little concrete known about the fate of original trees planted in 1912. The arborist and the landscape designers who planted the trees didnt leave behind a record of where had planted them. Subsequent planting, over the years became mixed in with the originals. And today its not known many if any of the original trees planted. But very near the stone lanterns are a handful of very old very gnarled cherry trees, which could, in date to that original 1912 shipment. The average of a cherry tree, however, is only about 40 or 50 years. So out of the original shipment, there wouldnt be more than a handful that are still living each year. The National Park service has to replace approximately 90 trees around the tidal in East Potomac Park and on the grounds of the washington monument. Cherry blossom simply originated of the cherry trees themself. People coming down to visit the trees and see the trees. The festival elements were added in the 1930s and today as many as a million and a half people. Visit washington, d. C. Over the four weeks of the Cherry Blossom festival to not only see the trees, to take part in events like the kite festival, the crowning of the blossom princess and her court, and of course, the annual parade which cap off the festival each year. Swimming was a popular Recreational Activity in the tidal basin in its early years. The first public swimming area was established in 1890 and there were various iterations of it over the years. The most famous of them came comes about in the early part, the 20th century. There was an attempt by congress as early as 1914 to get an appropriation to build a swimming area a large swimming area in the tidal. Congress studied the matter. A 1915 report showed the water in tidal basin was much of it was wastewater and sewage. It was decided it was far unsanitary and unsafe to swim in. They will to move forward, however, attempts to get that swimming area come up with with some plans to mitigate the unhealthy water and. In 1917 construction begins on what would become the tidal basin bathing area. The bathing area will be constructed on the south east of the tidal basin between the Jefferson Memorial and the outlet are today. That area was chosen because. That area was mostly where the fresh water passed through between the outlet, the inlet bridges. So there was some cleaner water there. They will attempt to mitigate the issue of the wastewater and, the sewage, by putting forth the large chlorine dispensers on the underside of the inlet bridge. These dispensers were capable of putting out as much as 12 and a half pound of chlorine every hour to clean the water and make it safe to bathe in the tidal basin bathing area will open to the public in august of 18 and it immediately became the place to be seen in d. C. There were bathing pageants. There were festivals, crowds swelled far beyond the carrying capacity of the bathing area. There are accounts in 1919 of the line to get in stretching for three blocks and the following there were as many as 20,000 people in a single day that passed through the bathing here. Now the tidal basin bathing area was not without its issues. This being the 1920s, there was a start of the loosening of morale in the country and that extended to the tidal basin. The length of womens bathing suits began to get shorter and shorter to. The point that there was an employee here whose job it was to go around and suits to make sure that they conformed with the rule requiring suits to be no more than six inches above a womans knee. Additionally, the question of segregation came up at the tidal basin when. It opened in 1918. The tidal basin swimming area was designed permitted for whites only. Congress at one point attempted to create separate but equal situation by drawing up plans for a bathing area for black patrons that would have been on the north side, the tidal basin. However, a of southern senators were concerned about plan that would have allowed blacks to swim the tidal basin, and they actually managed vote down the proposal. And a result congress did away all the swimming in the tidal basin. Rather than face questions about unequal facilities by february 1925, the tidal basin bathing area was no more and it went back to what it had been before swimming taking place, but not in established permitted, regulated areas. While the decision to desegregate the tidal basin bathing is one of the more unfortunate chapters the tidal basin history, the of the cuts bridge and adjoining sections of the seawall in 1940 provided an opportunity to mitigate some of that segregationist history. The contract for the construction. The bridge was awarded to alexander durr and repass construction out of iowa. Archie alexander and maurice repass were college classmates at the university iowa, where they studied engineering and played together on the university of iowa football team. Alexander was an africanamerican, the second black to play on the iowa football team. He was the leading partner of the firm, brought in repass, and they specialized in the construction bridges around the United States, including here in washington, the whitehurst freeway and the cuts bridge, which over the tidal basin during their construction of, the cuts bridge and the adjoining sections, the seawall. They employed fully integrated work crew of 160 employees that helped build features. On the south shore of the tidal basin had long been envisioned as a possible location for a major to help anchor the cross access of monuments and government along the National Mall. Running east to west. From the capitol. Through the washington to the Lincoln Memorial and south. From the white house to the shore of the tidal basin. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was very interested in creating a monument to Thomas Jefferson and inquired early in his presidency about using the tidal basin for that memorial. Shepard in the process, through design and construction, the memorial was dedicated in 1943 construct and having continued World War Two and jefferson was not without controversy far as its location. The construct of the memorial would require the removal of a number of cherry trees, which sparked one of dixies more famous protests known as the cherry tree rebellion, a number of women led by eleanor patterson, editor of the Washington Times herald, went down to the tidal basin. One day and chained themselves a number of cherry trees, blocking vehicles from being able to come in and, remove the trees. They ultimately a concession that any trees removed would be replanted elsewhere along the tidal basin. For more than 100 years, the cherry trees have a beloved institution in washington d. C. Symbolizing the friendship between the people of the United States. The people of japan. In the wake of the attack on pearl harbor in 1941, the love for the trees was put to the test. Washingtonians for the duration of World War Two would cease, referring them as the japanese flowering cherry, instead referring to them merely as the oriental cherry trees. And in fact in february of 1942, there was damage to a number of the trees and and markings left behind, indicating that it was in retaliation for the attack on harbor. Following the dedication of the Jefferson Memorial in 1943, tidal basin would continue to become home to some of dcs most treasured landmarks franklin Delano Roosevelt memorial was dedicated to the 1997 honoring americas president during World War Two as the only president to serve more than two terms. Memorial is divided into four rooms. One room for each of roosevelts times. And its next to the tidal basin signify the importance of water in roosevelts life as a man stricken with polio, as an adult. Roosevelt spent much of his life in the soothing waters of springs and baths to ease his pain. The Martin Luther king junior, dedicated in 2011, sits on the northwest of the tidal basin. Its location was specifically design the cherry trees, which generally in bloom each year on the anniversary of dr. Kings death. The memorial design is drawn from a passage in his i have a dream speech in which says out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. Dr. King himself is depicted as that stone of emerging from the mountain of despair, which sits behind him at the memorial and at the base of of the of that are a number quotations from his famous speeches sermons and writings. One of the most famous or perhaps incidents in the history of the tidal basin involved u. S. Wilbur mills, chairman, the house ways and means committee. One night in october of 1974, a car being driven erratically down independence avenue was pulled over and everyone was surprised to find in the back not only mills, but an exotic dancer named fanny fox, known as the argentine firecracker fox. In her panic, jumped out of the limousine and into the nearby tidal basin, where she was ultimately rescued. For mills. The scandal ultimately cost him his of the powerful ways and means committee. The gift to the territories from the people of japan has not been a one way street. The United States turn has gifted the people of japan dogwood trees over the years and helped repopulate some of the cherry trees that were lost in japan during World War Two. Additionally, cuttings from historic trees in japan are given to the United States to help us continue to keep the population thriving and alive here. And likewise, we have sent cuttings from those original trees back to japan for their use as well. The National Service employs a full time crew to take care of the cherry trees all year long. Not just during peak blooming season using modern arboreal culture practices. We care for the more than 3700 trees which graced the tidal basin nearby East Potomac Park and the grounds of washington monument. The species cherry trees planted around the tidal basin are flowering. Cherry trees only they dont produce the fruit that many people expect to find amongst groves of cherry trees. Every year during the first week of march. The National Service makes a projection of the cherry. Trees are expected to blossom since. They were planted in 1912. The average date of peak bloom is the first week of april. Around april third or april 4th. Once the blossoms, theyll stay on the trees for only 7 to 10 days. Depend on weather conditions, the beauty of the japanese flowering cherry is fleeting. A strong wind or heavy rain while the petals are on the trees can bring the blossoms down and bring an end to. The Cherry Blossom season. The tidal basin is now over 125 years old and time is taking a toll on the tidal and the sea walls around it. Settlement has occurred over last century as the sea walls begin to sink somewhat and rising sea level due to climate is bringing the tides up higher, higher every day. Portions of the seawall go underwater twice every day due to the rising tides and the National Park service and some of our partners are looking at options to reimagine the tidal basin for the next hundred years. The national trust, Historic Preservation and the trust for the National Mall are leading a tidal ideas lab where are considering input from five different architectural firms about what the tidal basin will look like in its next century century. I moved to washington, d. C. In 1970 and for nearly as long i can remember the tidal basin and the cherry trees have been an important part of my springtime ritual. From my earliest memories with my family are coming down and seeing the trees. I for the national Cherry Blossom parade when i was in high school and continue to look forward to Cherry Blossom season unlike any other time of the year, the emergence of the cherry trees every spring signify the end of a long, cold winter and the emergence of spring in washington, d. C. Grand is tradition when the trees are out. There is no blue. There is no red. In washington, everyone is pink and. Everything