McPherson Square

McPherson Square is a square in downtown Washington, D.C. It is bound by K Street Northwest to the north, Vermont Avenue NW on the East, I Street NW on the south, and 15th Street NW on the West; it is one block northeast of Lafayette Park. It is the sister square of Farragut Square two blocks west. and is served by the McPherson Square station of the Washington Metro.

History
McPherson Square is located in the heart of downtown Washington, D.C., and was part of Pierre L'Enfant's plan of 1791 for the city. The park-like area is named after James B. McPherson, a major general who fought in the Union Army during the American Civil War before he was killed at the Battle of Atlanta. The Society of the Army of the Tennessee presented an equestrian statue of McPherson, which was erected at McPherson Square and dedicated on October 18, 1876. The sculpture represents McPherson surveying a battlefield. It was made by Louis Rebisso out of a captured cannon and rests on a granite pedestal.

Located in the central downtown commercial and business district, the square is frequented by area workers and street vendors, and restaurant-goers and the homeless at night. Owing to its proximity to the White House, it is also the site of political rallies and falls on the path of various protest marches. Adjacent buildings include the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Lafayette Building housing the Export-Import Bank, the 15th Street financial district, and numerous hotels.

The 2004 headquarters for Senator John Kerry's campaign for President was located in a building on McPherson Square.

On October 1, 2011, Occupy D.C. encamped in McPherson Square. On February 4, 2012, United States Park Police officers, citing no-camping statutes, evicted the occupiers.

For many years, McPherson Square housed a large homeless population. In 2023, the D.C. government and federal government acted to remove all homeless people from the square. Despite grassroots opposition to this removal, the square was cleared of its homeless population in February 2023. The government argued that the encampments were dangerous, as many deaths were reported in the square over the preceding few years. Activists countered by arguing that the government was not giving the homeless population a good alternative, and were leaving them with little support while closing down several of their encampments across the city. One man—Daniel Kingery—was allowed to remain. His being Anglo while the rest of the homeless population were African American and forced to move from the park has called in questions of whether United States Park Police are biased and prejudiced. Daniel originally lived in Lafayette Park until he was banned from the park by United States Secret Service for verbal abuse and terroristic threats to them as well as White House visitors.