Samuel Francis Du Pont Memorial Fountain

In 1871, the Army Corps of Engineers began construction of the traffic circle, then called Pacific Circle, as specified in L'Enfant's plan.

On February 25, 1882, Congress renamed the circle to "Dupont Circle", and authorized a memorial statue of Samuel Francis Du Pont, in recognition of his service as a rear admiral during the Civil War. The statue, sculpted by Launt Thompson, was erected in 1884, and the circle was landscaped, with exotic flowers and ornamental trees. In 1921, the current double-tiered white marble fountain replaced  ...