47 Maples to cap off Trump’s reborn LaFayette Park

Across the street from the White House’s North Lawn is LaFayette Park, which is named for the revolutionary hero: Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, better known as Marquis de LaFayette, and in less than a month, it will be open to the public again.

President Donald J. Trump included the renovation of the park in his March 25, 2025, Executive Order 14252, “Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful.”

Originally, slated to reopen before July 4, the work is expected to be finalized by July 31.

Trump said the work is wrapping up. “Now, complete, except for the replacement of the original pavers.”

“LaFayette Park has not looked so good since its inception in 1820,” the president said. “You’ll see something incredible.”

The park was formally named for LaFayette to coincide with his 1824-1825 tour of all 24 states as President James Monroe’s “National Guest.” The tour and the guest were so popular that there are now nearly 50 cities, towns and counties named for LaFayette–the first being: Fayetteville, North Carolina, home of the future Fort Bragg.

It is a park made iconic by the centerpiece statue of President Andrew Jackson in his horse and in his general officer uniform–a shot that is often used for the White House.

The Park Service restored the four cannon around the Jackson statue to their original black-brown patina, and used solvents to remove the green stains from his marble pedestal.

Jackson himself was cleaned up and given a fresh coat of hot-wax coating.

The other four statues in the park got the same treatment.

Those statues are LaFayette and these other three foreign generals, who contributed to the victory in the War for Independence: Brigadier General Thaddeus Kosciuszko, Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau and Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand Freiherr von Steuben.

Kosciuszko, a Polish engineer, who designed and led the construction of the fort at West Point, New York, as well contributing to fortifications throughout the colonies.

French general de Rochambeau was an operational and strategic partner with Gen George Washington. He was the general to whom the English tried to surrender to at Yorktown. Lord Cornwallis, the English commander begged off due to illness, so his sent his second Brig. Gen. Charles O’Hara. As O’Hara approached the Frenchman, the message being that it was a French victory, not an American one, the count motioned O’Hara to give his sword to Washington.

Washington, recognizing that O’Hara was the deputy to Cornwallis, motioned the general to Washington’s deputy.

Von Stueben arrived from Prussia at Valley Forge in 1778 with the mandate to observe the troops and the leadership of Washington as an inspector general. It did not take long for the Prussian to force himself into the actual drilling and training of soldiers.

Unable to speak English, Von Stueben wrote out his instructions for training modules and principles in French. These lesson plans were translated into English by his staff.

Eventually, Von Stueben’s training drills were collected into his Blue Book, which is still the source document for Army training today.

The improvements at the park have been transformative. There are new benches, new sodden grass, and something Trump is particularly proud of, the fountains have been cleaned and fixed with new piping and lights. At night, the fountains will rotate through red, white and blue lights.

More than anything else, what we are really waiting to see is the 47 new maple trees–Trump’s favorite, that the president wants planted to mark his historic presidency.

When those trees are taking root, the park will then be complete.