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Franklin Square, Washington, DC

Photo: Sdkb, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

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Franklin Square

Take a break in a five-acre downtown park with a central fountain, a children's play garden, a cafe and a statue of Commodore John Barry.

Between 13th and 14th Streets and I and K Streets NW · Washington, DC

About Franklin Square

Franklin Square, also called Franklin Park, is a five-acre square in downtown Washington set aside by Congress in 1832 to protect springs that supplied water to the White House. It reopened in 2021 after a $21 million renovation that added a children's play garden, movable seating and a cafe building with public restrooms. The 1914 statue of Commodore John Barry stands on the west side. McPherson Square Metro station is just southwest of the park.

  • #city park
  • #fountain
  • #playground
  • #downtown
  • #national park service

What's around here?

The closest stops to Franklin Square, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Museums
    Rainy-Day Pick

    National Museum of Women in the Arts

    Under $25

    See work by women artists from past centuries to today in a 1908 former Masonic Temple a few blocks from the White House.

    Steps awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sports & Outdoors

    McPherson Square

    No admission fee

    A 1.66-acre downtown park centered on a Civil War statue of General James B. McPherson.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    Steps awayMore like this

  • Stay
    Date Night

    The Westin Washington, D.C. City Center

    $50+

    A 410-room Westin at Thomas Circle in downtown Washington with the Infamy Restaurant & Bar and a bright atrium.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    0.3 mi awaySwitch it up: Stay

  • Sightseeing
    Iconic

    Lafayette Square

    No admission fee

    Stroll the seven-acre park facing the White House's North Portico, ringed by statues, St. John's Church and historic houses.

    0.4 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Farragut Square

    Check prices

    A downtown Washington square centered on a monument to Admiral David Farragut, a Civil War naval commander.

    0.4 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Iconic

    National Mall

    No admission fee

    Walk the long green lawn from the U.S. Capitol toward the Lincoln Memorial, past monuments, memorials and Smithsonian museums.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    0.9 mi awayMore like this

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