In This Article
30-Second Summary
Headline Link: A new plan for the National Mall
Video: ‘Planners Seek Better Link Between National Mall, Rest Of D.C.’
Background: A plan is launched in 2006
Key Players: The Mall; The National Coalition to Save Our Mall
Related Topics: The National Mall’s importance in American history
Opinion & Analysis: Mall ‘needs some pampering’
Reference: National Parks Service
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Charles Dharapak/AP
National Mall, in Disrepair, Still Awaiting Improvements
Seventeen dead ducks recently showed up in the reflecting pool at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Many believe the 200-year-old park is overdue for a facelift.
30-Second Summary
A sea wall by the Jefferson Memorial is slowly sinking into the tidal basin. Flooded and cracked walkways have to be blocked off from public use, and water is so dirty that this isn’t the first time dead birds or fish have turned up over the years.
The current situation is “a sorry state of affairs, prompting a growing number of activists to proclaim America’s ‘front yard’ a national disgrace and to launch a series of plans aimed at the most sweeping revitalization of the area in more than a century,” reports Newsweek.
The National Park Service first unveiled an improvement plan for the Mall in 2006. The effort—which marked the first time in 100 years that the planning and future of the park was revisited—was met by with hopeful optimism from citizens concerned about the Mall’s upkeep. But two years have passed and the park, which is visited by 25 million people each year, hasn’t seen any tangible changes.
Just last week the National Capital Planning Commission and U.S. Commission of Fine Arts created a draft for a long-term plan to redesign the Mall, but cost is a major issue.
Judy Feldman, who heads the National Coalition to Save Our Mall, says she’s pleased with the new developments but much more needs to be done—and soon. “People think of the Mall as this great inspiring landscape, which it is, but up close it’s clear that as a nation we’re not giving it the attention it needs,” she said.
The current situation is “a sorry state of affairs, prompting a growing number of activists to proclaim America’s ‘front yard’ a national disgrace and to launch a series of plans aimed at the most sweeping revitalization of the area in more than a century,” reports Newsweek.
The National Park Service first unveiled an improvement plan for the Mall in 2006. The effort—which marked the first time in 100 years that the planning and future of the park was revisited—was met by with hopeful optimism from citizens concerned about the Mall’s upkeep. But two years have passed and the park, which is visited by 25 million people each year, hasn’t seen any tangible changes.
Just last week the National Capital Planning Commission and U.S. Commission of Fine Arts created a draft for a long-term plan to redesign the Mall, but cost is a major issue.
Judy Feldman, who heads the National Coalition to Save Our Mall, says she’s pleased with the new developments but much more needs to be done—and soon. “People think of the Mall as this great inspiring landscape, which it is, but up close it’s clear that as a nation we’re not giving it the attention it needs,” she said.
Headline Link: A new plan for the National Mall
A new plan to redesign the Mall would not only improve the existing structures, but envisions future shops, museums and restaurants as well as well-developed public transportation options. Although the project does not include a definite overall price tag yet, cost of overhauling the Mall has been estimated at $350–500 million. More than 3,000 permits for demonstrations and public events at the Mall are granted every year.
Source: Newsweek
Video: ‘Planners Seek Better Link Between National Mall, Rest Of D.C.’
Washington NBC affiliate NBC4 reports on the new plan for the National Mall. Thomas Luebke of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts calls the plan “A win for everyone, whether you’re a tourist, a resident or a worker.” The National Capital Planning Commission and U.S. Commission of Fine Arts will consider public comment for 90 days before voting on the plan later this year.
Source: NBC4
Background: A plan is launched in 2006
A nationwide effort launched by the National Park Service on Nov. 1, 2006, asked people across the country with opinions on improvements needed at the National Mall to register them online. The suggestions were to be copied into an action plan, The Washington Post reported.
Source: The Washington Post
Key Players: The Mall; The National Coalition to Save Our Mall
The Mall, part of the National Mall and Memorial Parks—a larger network of parks that also includes Ford’s Theatre, Constitution Gardens and other sites—was not officially established until 1965, but the park contains some of the oldest protected park lands in the National Park Service. The park includes the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, World War II Memorial, Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial and Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial. Many visitors are most familiar, however, with the image of the reflecting pool, located in front of the Washington Monument. The site also includes a monthly calendar of events that take place at the park, perhaps most well known, the Independence Day celebration on the Mall.
Source: National Park Service
On its Web site, The National Coalition to Save Our Mall, an eight-year-old advocacy group pushing for revitalization of the national park, urges citizens to take action by writing to Congress and making donations. It also lists the group’s major priorities for Mall improvement. The group takes advantage of every opportunity to publicize its cause, speaking at Senate hearings and appearing on radio talk shows and in newspapers. Judy Feldman heads the organization.
Source: National Coalition to Save Our Mall
Related Topics: The National Mall’s importance in American history
The 1963 March on Washington, in which thousands of Americans gathered on the National Mall in support of civil rights, is remembered most for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
Source: NPR
Tens of thousands of protestors, including celebrities and some members of Congress, protested the Iraq war on the National Mall in January 2007. “The rally on the National Mall unfolded peacefully, although about 300 protesters tried to rush the Capitol, running up the grassy lawn to the front of the building,” the Associated Press reported. Some protesters drew parallels to the Vietnam War, which protestors rallied against on the National Mall in the 1960s.
Source: MSNBC (AP)
Opinion & Analysis: Mall ‘needs some pampering’
Dan K. Thomasson writes that the Mall “needs some pampering” in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. He writes that although what is really needed to fix the problem is a long-term plan, “writing one's congressman, the age-old method of trying to get something done in this country, just might help move along plans’ to spend needed millions on the maintenance of this national jewel. The more of your Senate and House members who are made aware that the condition has become a disgrace, the more likely things will be improved.”
Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Reference: National Parks Service
The National Parks Service provides information about plans to improve the National Mall on a Web site dedicated to the issue. “The National Mall belongs to all of us,” the Web site states. “We’re undertaking a major planning effort to improve your National Mall experience.” The site allows visitors to sign up for e-mail updates about the project.
Source: National Park Service
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