The drought is over at Meridian Hill Park as fountain flows again

The drought is over at Meridian Hill Park. It’s not a mirage — after a seven‑year dry spell, the fountains at the historic Northwest D.C. park are finally flowing again.

On Friday, people were smiling, enjoy the sunny day and taking pictures in the park, also known by locals as Malcolm X Park. The 11-acre National Historic Landmark sits along 16th Street NW between Euclid and W streets — and for many longtime visitors, seeing water return to the 13-basin cascade felt like getting a piece of the neighborhood back.

“I’ve forgotten how beautiful it was,” said Phyllis Blair, watching water spill down one of the longest cascading fountains of its kind in North America. “It’s so refreshing.”

Blair, who has lived in D.C. for 40 years, brought her dog Cooper and said she was taking photos for neighbors who had moved away.

Near the reflecting pool, Tyrone Austin looked up toward the top of the fountain and couldn’t hold back his reaction: “I love it, I love it, I love it!”

“Just the thought of it being remodeled is a great pleasure to the whole community,” he added.

Austin, a lifelong Washingtonian, said he used to hunt for Easter eggs in the...