A $300 million, 177,000 square-foot museum dedicated to telling the story of the U.S. Army is being built at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, after nearly two centuries of preparation and a yearlong construction delay.
The museum, set to open in June 2015, got about $100 million from the Army, including the 41-acre site at Fort Belvoir, but its patrons must raise an additional $200 million. Sponsors have $63 million and need about $137 million more.
The museum will be near the intersection of the Fairfax County Parkway and Kingman Road, about two miles from Interstate 95.
<br/><small><a href=”http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=embed&hl=en&q=Fairfax+County+Pkwy+%26+John+J+Kingman+Rd,+Fort+Belvoir,+Fairfax,+Virginia+22060&aq=&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=33.984987,86.572266&vpsrc=0&ie=UTF8&geocode=FSjNTgId1IFm-w&split=0&hq=&hnear=Fairfax+County+Pkwy+%26+John+J+Kingman+Rd,+Fort+Belvoir,+Fairfax,+Virginia+22060&t=m&ll=38.718733,-77.16814&spn=0.013393,0.01708&z=14&iwloc=A” style=”color:#0000FF;text-align:left”>View Larger Map</a></small></div> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>Fairfax County donated about $1 million over the last few years to the museum, which is expected to attract up to 1 million visitors a year.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>”That we can bring 1 million people to Fairfax County and have them stay here in hotels and use our restaurants is a huge economic opportunity for Fairfax County. So I think it’s a great investment,” said <a href=”http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/mountvernon/”>Supervisor Gerry Hyland, D-Mount Vernon</a>, who sits on the board of the <a href=”http://www.armyhistory.org/ahf.aspx?pgID=868″>Army Historical Foundation, which is raising money for the museum</a>.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>The museum has been in the works since 1814, when Congress ordered the Army to start collecting artifacts from the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, according to Army Historical Foundation spokesman Dave Fabian.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>But it wasn’t until 2001 that an actual plan for the museum started to take shape. Fort Belvoir beat out Fort Meade in Maryland and the Carlisle Barracks in Pennsylvania to host the museum.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>The museum’s construction was delayed, however, when a commission considering which military bases to close or consolidate decided that the museum site at Pence Gate and Route 1 should instead be used for a military hospital. After a delay of more than a year, the museum found a new home near the fort’s golf course.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>But supporters are just happy the museum is coming, and that it’s at Fort Belvoir.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>”It’s great for Fairfax County; it’s great for the national capital region. And it’s a source of pride for Fort Belvoir in particular,” said Don Dees, a spokesman for Fort Belvoir. </span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>The museum will be free and be open to the public, without the approval and security measures necessary to enter the rest of the fort.</span></p> <p><span class=”EndEmailTag” style=”font-style:italic;”><em><a href=” mailto:[email protected] “>[email protected]</a></em></span></p>
