The purification of Pershing Park is under way.
The concrete commons at 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest is a summer favorite for tourists seeking a brief respite, workers enjoying an outdoor lunch, protesters staging a march and homeless people taking a nap.
But recently, the National Park Service memorial to Gen. John J. Pershing, General of the Armies during World War I, had become a mess.
The concrete pond/fountain was a dark green, putrid mess of algae and waste. Grass and weeds could be measured in feet and trash was strewn all over the place.
No more.
On Wednesday, workers drained and steam-cleaned the fountain, cleared leaves and refurbished the snack kiosk. The multi-day clean-up, they said, was desperately needed.
“You’ve got to sterilize this place,” said Lewis Simpson, one member of a three-person steam-cleaning team. “There’s still work to be done. But it’s going to look fantastic after we get finished.”
Simpson and Vincent Pendergrast had just stripped off their protective rubber jumpers to take a break.
In the pond, they said, they found algae, duck “mess” and human waste — which they chalked up to the homeless people they say bathe there.
William Line, a National Park Service spokesman, said Pershing Park was constructed in the 1980s without a filtration system, forcing frequent cleanings. In the summer, he said, the system collects algae, among other muck, and must be drained multiple times, though it’s still quicker and cheaper than installing filters.
At least one more draining will be required this summer, he said.
“The National Park Service maintenance crews do the best job they possibly can,” Line said. “Maintenance crews cannot be at 100 percent of the places 100 percent of the time.”
