#lady bird johnson

Beautification: A Legacy of Lady Bird Johnson

“The environment after all is where we all meet; where we all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share. It is not only a mirror of ourselves, but a focusing lens on what we can become.”

- Lady Bird Johnson, “Speech at Yale University,” (New Haven, Connecticut, October 9, 1967).

As a champion of conservation efforts and environmental causes, Lady Bird Johnson initiated the Beautification Project to improve the quality of life for residents of Washington, D.C. through the renewal and improvement of public spaces. The environmental and aesthetic improvements of Beautification included tree-lined avenues, floral displays, design guidelines, improvements to pedestrian circulation, renovation of historic buildings, and litter clean-up.

Beautification Luncheon.  Foreground L-R: Sec. Stewart Udall, Lady Bird Johnson, Laurance Rockefeller looking at an architectural model of the Washington DC Mall area during a Beautification Luncheon in the White House State Dining Room. The 1967 luncheon in part discussed proposed changes to the Mall (Robert Knudsen, LBJ Library, White House Photo Office collection (C5209-33).    

Beautification was far more complex than a garden club project. 

According to Johnson, “Though the word beautification makes the concept sound merely cosmetic, it involves much more: clean water, clean air, clean roadsides, safe waste disposal and preservation of valued old landmarks as well as great parks and wilderness areas. To me…beautification means our total concern for the physical and human quality we pass on to our children and the future.”

Lady Bird Johnson and two young people standing among blooming white azaleas during a Beautification Tour of Washington, D.C. (Robert Knudsen, LBJ Library, C1754-25).  

Lady Bird Johnson selected her adopted hometown of Washington, D.C. as the pilot city to show the nation how Beautification could enhance the overall quality of life. The city afforded Johnson the perfect opportunity to showcase the potential of the program. The prominence of Washington, D.C. garnered national visibility to highlight the progress of the effort.

“The Story of Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson’s Beautification Program” is from the LBJ Library moving picture collection created by the White House Naval Photographic Unit, aka the Navy Films. The films consist of monthly reports on the activities of President and Lady Bird Johnson from 1963-1969. This edited content is from the LBJ Library audiovisual archives.

Lady Bird Johnson formed a coalition of both public and private entities, involving Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall, local officials, planners, landscape architects, citizens, and school groups. 

Spring brings color to the trees on the East Potomac Golf Course at Hains Point in Washington, D.C. (NPS Photo).

Lady Bird’s legacy is still evident in Washington, D.C. today. 

Daffodil drifts soften the hillsides of the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, as well as the George Washington Memorial Parkway and Lady Bird Johnson Park. Cherry trees line the road of Hains Point, sprays of blossoms frame views in the monumental core, and the Floral Library near the Washington Monument bursts with color in the springtime. Street trees shade avenues throughout the city, and efforts to clean the city’s waterways have continued into the present.  

Find more in the full article at nps.gov: Beautification: A Legacy of Lady Bird Johnson 

SIDESHOW: Sometimes there are other ideas that I think would be awesome. So think of these as guest blog entries from other sections of my brain. (See all Sideshows here.)

This is from a Tumblr that doesn’t exist called Lady Bird / Johnson. All captions are quotes from First Lady Claudia Alta “Lady Bird” Johnson.  All images are from the film Lady Bird.

daytrippinrmo:

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Austin, TX - Apr, 2019

Iconic First Ladies of the United States

1. As First Lady, Dolley Madison founded an orphanage for girls in Washington, D.C., and redecorated the White House to give it a more stately look. Check out our website on Mrs. Madison.

2.Eleanor Roosevelt was an early civil rights activist, insisting that New Deal benefits be extended to African Americans in an equal manner. Check out our website on Mrs. Roosevelt.

3.Jacqueline Kennedy renovated and refurbished the White House, while also extending support for the arts in America. Check out bios of Kennedy women here.

4. National beautification became Lady Bird Johnson’s cause of choice. She led efforts in improving physical conditions in Washington, D.C., in particular. Check out our website on Mrs. Johnson.

5.Rosalynn Carter sat in on Cabinet meetings (which was then unprecedented) and supported reform for mental health legislation and aiding senior citizens. Learn more about Mrs. Carter here.

6.Hillary Clinton headed the Task Force on National Health Care Reform and traveled to over 75 countries during her time as First Lady. Read our biography of Mrs. Clinton here.

(All photos via Library of Congress.)

October 24, 1963 - Joan Kennedy and Lady Bird Johnson are seen at a luncheon for Democratic women at the Ritz Carlton.

felorv3:

Some of my favorite Ladies: Lady Miss Kier Kirby, The Lady Bunny, Lady Diana Spencer, Lady Bird Johnson, Lady Mary and Lady Edith, Lady Godiva,
Lady Sovereign, Lady, and Lady Liberty.

Lady Bird Johnson visiting a Project Head Start classroom at the Kemper School in Washington, DC. 3/19/1968

nakedhistorylessons:

Eartha Kitt in 1968, the same year her strong denunciation of the Vietnam War at a White House dinner made Lady Bird Johnson cry. The CIA retaliated by launching a smear campaign that claimed Kitt was “a sadistic nymphomaniac.”

An item from my old blog, but it would be worth sharing again just for the picture. I don’t think I’ve seen a more sultry look than the one Eartha Kitt delivers here. She has such an erotic power that many tears–not just those of the wife of a president–must have been shed over her.