It has played host to civil rights marches, presidential inaugurations, fireworks displays and decades of picnics. But in recent years the National Mall, envisioned more than a century ago as a lush carpet of green connecting the nation's most treasured monuments, has looked more like a West Texas dust bowl. Now National Park Service officials are trying to teach the nearly 30 million people who gather here each year a difficult lesson: Tread softly or keep off the grass.

How long will new turf on National Mall last?

It has played host to civil rights marches, presidential inaugurations, fireworks displays and decades of picnics. But in recent years the National Mall, envisioned more than a century ago as a lush carpet of green connecting the nation’s most treasured monuments, has looked more like a West Texas dust bowl. Now National Park Service officials are trying to teach the nearly 30 million people who gather here each year a difficult lesson: Tread softly or keep off the grass.


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