The National Capital Planning Commission and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts announced a new initiative that officials hope will encourage future memorials and museums on land other than the National Mall.
Washington has more than 400 municipal and national parks covering thousands of acres across all corners of the city, but the only park typically seen by the estimated 26 million tourists who converge on the District annually is the Mall.
“Washington is a vibrant city, full of life that extends well beyond the National Mall,” said John V. Cogbill, NCPC chairman.
He said more work needs to be done to “relieve pressure on decision makers to place additional memorials and museums on the Mall.”
The plan, announced Wednesday from the courtyard of the Navy Memorial, will seek to make other “destinations” more desirable by groups working to place memorials and museums in the city. Several groups have pressured the 11 agencies with oversight of the Mall to expand it to the Potomac River and beyond.
“We are here today at the Navy Memorial, a great example of a beautiful and meaningful memorial that can be built within the city without creating another commemorative site on the National Mall,” said Earl A. Powell, CFA chairman. “Enhancing the areas around the National Mall will be a long-term effort requiring input from the public, from many agencies, and from design and planning professionals.”
Congress put a construction moratorium on the National Mall in 2003 deeming it a “a completed work of civic art,” yet several new memorial and museums were given special exemptions in the past three years.
Planning it out
» The plan will focus on the areas of the Northwest Rectangle, Federal Triangle, East Potomac Park, Southwest Federal Center, Banneker Overlook, RFK Stadium site, South Capitol Street and Poplar Point. The first report is expected by the end of the year.
