During the Cretaceous Period beginning 100 million years ago, shallow seas advanced and retreated across the coastal plain where downtown DC now lies.  The Parks Center stands on the edge of the far older Piedmont plateau of bedrock-- quite explicitly the ancient shore of the Atlantic Ocean.  Indigenous people came to view Meridian Hill as a sacred place.   In their time beginning at least 15,000 years ago, they could see the schools of 14-foot sturgeon vertically breaching the Potomac River from the top of Meridian Hill.  Today, the building atop Meridian Hill has undergone changes in ownership. It was once the Australian Embassy, then the Embassy of Hungary, and is now named after Josephine Butler. "Jo" Butler (1920–1997) was a prominent Washington, D.C. civil rights, environmental, and statehood activist. She dedicated her life to community service, co-founding the D.C. Statehood Party and leading grassroots efforts to protect parks. Today her efforts continue, with large credit to Steve.