Background In the late 19th century, the site of Muhlenberg Park was the intersection of Grant Road and Chappell Road in rural
Washington County, D.C. In 1871, Washington County, Washington City, and
Georgetown were unified under one district government, establishing the modern boundaries of
Washington, D.C. Over the following decades,
motorized streetcars made settlement in the far
Northwest of the city more feasible. In 1907, the completion of
a bridge over the
Rock Creek gorge allowed
Connecticut Avenue to run uninterrupted from downtown to
Chevy Chase, Maryland. As the area was developed, Grant Road was gradually built over and replaced with a
street grid, leaving only a few disconnected segments, including the
Grant Road Historic District, remaining. Chappell Road was connected to 36th Street NW and renamed, leaving a small, triangular piece of land between it and Connecticut Avenue. The following year, Epiphany agreed to merge with
St. Paul's English Lutheran Church, keeping the St. Paul's name and charter and using the Connecticut Avenue site for a new building. St. Paul's, founded in 1843 and based at the southwest corner of 11th and
H Streets NW since 1845, had grown such that their historic edifice could no longer accommodate the size of the congregation.
Planning On May 2, 1928, Congress passed Public Resolution No. 30, authorizing construction of the monument, with funds to be raised by the Peter Muhlenberg Memorial Association and the design to be approved by the
United States Congress Joint Committee on the Library and the
Commission of Fine Arts. Congressmen
Alfred L. Bulwinkle of
North Carolina, who
sponsored the resolution, and
R. Walton Moore of
Virginia both spoke in favor of its passage in the
House of Representatives. Calling Muhlenberg "one of America's
great men," Bulwinkle opined that "the appreciation of Congress should be given to the Peter Muhlenberg Memorial Association for the idea of erecting here, in the Capital of the Nation, a fitting monument to serve as a memorial to one of the men who helped to found this Republic." Before further action could be taken, financial problems caused by the
Great Depression resulted in delayed construction of the new church building and a halt in fundraising for the memorial. In 1959, the year after the church was completed, a committee was named to begin soliciting funds for the memorial's construction. Washington attorney and St. Paul's congregant Henry F. Lerch III was instrumental in relaunching the project, serving as chairman of the Memorial Association, with the goal of completing it in time for the
United States Bicentennial.
John Harbeson of the
Philadelphia firm
Harbeson, Hough, Livingston & Larson, a former president of the
National Academy of Design, was chosen as the architect while
Charles Town, West Virginia-based artist Caroline Muhlenberg Hufford was chosen to sculpt the bust at its center. Hufford, formerly of
Reading, Pennsylvania and
Arlington, Virginia, was a daughter of noted architect and former
Pennsylvania Congressman,
Frederick A. Muhlenberg, and a third great-granddaughter of Peter Muhlenberg. The E. A. Baker Company of Washington was hired as
general contractor. The memorial cost $59,430 to build ().
Dedication The memorial was formally dedicated on
Reformation Sunday, October 26, 1980. Under its 1968, 2004 and 2010 master plans, the Park Service and
National Capital Planning Commission suggested the creation of a system of trails connecting the Fort Circle Parks, including nearby
Fort Reno, to each other and other open spaces in the District. ==Design and location==