“We are very happy, delighted and grateful,” were some of the comments by the presidents of the Friends of Book Hill Park and the Georgetown Garden Club after an evening town hall meeting on December 9. The meeting was held with officials from the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation at the Georgetown Library to review final renovation plans for the park.  These are notably unusually positive sentiments following meetings between city officials and community organizations.

“We really are pleased with the outcome,” Friends of Book Hill Park President Virginia Poole and Georgetown Garden Club President Lee Child told the Georgetowner.

The two organizations have long been advocating for improvements in the safety, maintenance and beautification of the long acreage sloping down from the back of Georgetown’s library on R St NW, south along Wisconsin Ave. to Reservoir Rd. NW.  Many of their requests going back several years were considered to be urgent, such as a solid railing along the dozens of steps winding up the slope, repair of many of the steps themselves and lights along the steps.

Also considered essential were repairs, refurbishment and even placement of new matching benches along the park’s garden levels and upper lawn area behind the library terrace. Advocates were also hopeful that the city would consider installing a secure and solid spigot for watering the many bulbs and plants that the garden club donates each year from their annual Georgetown Garden Tour in May.  They are planted, fed, watered and maintained each year by dozens of the club’s volunteers.

All of those improvements have been budgeted, it was announced by city officials at the meeting.  The total funds available had been raised from $200,000 to $300,000 thanks to the transfer of project funds from another project in Georgetown that didn’t need it the additional funds to the Book Hill Park project.  The city will also fund the purchase of one large beech tree to be planted alongside the six historic ones on the East side of the steps.

Designs of the park improvements, the benches and the lighting as well as other structural repairs can be seen here.  The current timeline has the project starting in the spring of 2026 and finished by fall of next year.  The first step in the coming months is to secure all the permits.

“Are you convinced that this is a committed project?” the Georgetowner asked both club presidents.

“Oh yes,” they both said.

“Chris Dyer, the DPR official in charge of this project, told us that planning and bringing this project to fruition had been a particularly cooperative experience,” Child noted.

“He told us that the book hill people had been a very agreeable group to work with,” Poole added.

The clubs expect the park, benches and the small square at the  bottom of the staircase at corner of Wisconsin and Reservoir Rd to increasingly become a gathering point for community activities,  Already Georgetown Main Street gathers there for a Christmas tree lighting and caroling every year, and there is also a spring flower sale and giveaway, and various summer and fall events including the French Market.