The area constituting Union Square was originally part of the U.S. Capitol complex, but beginning in the 1930s the
National Park Service assumed jurisdiction over the site. In 2012 the Trust for the National Mall selected Seattle-based landscape architects Gustafson Guthrie Nichol (GGN) and New York-based architects Davis Brody Bond (DBB) for the redesign of Union Square. The winning design was judged on flexibility, sustainability, and creativity of their design and how well it reflected the established vision and design influences of this historic setting. However, the
112th United States Congress enacted the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2012, which transferred to the
Architect of the Capitol the NPS "property which is bounded on the north by Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, on the east by First Street Northwest and First Street Southwest, on the south by Maryland Avenue Southwest, and on the west by Third Street Southwest and Third Street Northwest". The Act removed Union Square from NPS jurisdiction. The NPS expressed surprise at the move and some advocates for protest groups complained, asserting that the Architect of the Capitol and the
United States Capitol Police (who were now responsible for security) were likely to be less tactful and accommodating to demonstrators than the
Park Police. A
Washington Post writer stated: "Although definitions of what constitutes the [National] Mall vary, the [2011] provision, in a sense, moves its easternmost boundary west — from First Street to Third Street." ==References==