The new National Mall: Keep off the grass

It may be America’s front yard, but that’s not stopping the National Park Service from fencing it off. The Park Service wants to enclose the National Mall’s grass squares that run down the center of the Mall between the Washington Monument and the Capitol to protect the annual beating the turf takes.

The enclosure is part of a new plan for the Mall that is designed to limit wear and tear on the high-traffic grounds as well as provide more public amenities for the more than 25 million people who visit every year.