April 29, 2007 - Special Sunday Edition
Dear Coalition Friends:
An editorial in today's Washington Post (see below) laments the sale to a local private developer of the popular sculptured giant "The Awakening" on Hains Point on the Potomac River.
If and when it goes, what will take its place?
The federal agencies, the National Capital Planning Commission and the National Park Service, identify the site in their Memorials and Museums Master Plan as Location #40 for a future memorial. They note that it has the potential of becoming a future water taxi landing area. If a memorial sponsor selects that site, the future will be sealed.
What would DC Government and local citizens like to see take its place? Another memorial? Or, a public recreational or cultural venue that helps open up the 327 acres of underutilized public parkland in East Potomac Park to the benefit of local residents? That recognizes and preserves the traditions developed by District residents, such as Sunday picnics held by the local African-American community?
Hains Point and East Potomac Park have never fully realized their intended purposes. An 1897 Act of Congress designated this new parkland, created on landfill, as a place for the enjoyment and recreation of the people. The 1916 Development of East Potomac Park plan (Prepared for the Army Corps of Engineers by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. and James G. Langdon) envisioned it as a model "public playground."
The National Park Service describes this area's historic value as being in "the amount and quality of open space" and "the unimpeded views to and from distant monuments, the Potomac River and adjacent waterfront, and the low skyline of the city." (NPS's East and West Potomac Parks Historic District. Revised National Register of Historic Places Nomination, 1999, Sec. 7, p. 54.)
The value to the District is more tangible, especially as plans move forward to develop the Southwest Waterfront. Water taxis, docks, and a pedestrian bridge across Washington Channel could connect this hard-to-get-to, underutilized public parkland to the local community.
If one happy accident in the form of "The Awakening" could have inspired such popular affection, imagine what a well-thought-out plan for public recreational facilities, affordable transportation, public docks, cafes, and other amenities could achieve for District residents and tourists alike.
But first, DC Government and residents need to recognize this unique opportunity and take initiative in helping to decide its future--before Congress and another private developer (a memorial or museum sponsor) makes the decision for us.
THE WASHINGTON POST
A Giant Stirs
Sunday, April 29, 2007; B06
EVEN IN a city renowned for its monuments, "The Awakening" holds its own. The dramatic sculpture of a giant emerging little by little from the earth, mouth open wide, rules Hains Point, beloved by both resident and tourist. News that Washington will soon lose this signature fixture is a little disconcerting.
The artwork has been sold for $750,000 to developer Milt Peterson for use at his National Harbor project in Prince George's County. Everyone involved in the sale tried to put the best face on it. The California-based Sculpture Foundation, which owns the work, put out a news release headlined "Sculptural Giant To Stay in DC." The National Park Service stressed that it's been a good caretaker for the 27 years it let the work reside on public land. Mr. Peterson said that even if the move creates a stir, it will be good for his project and Prince George's County.
It seems that park service rules forbid either acquisition or donation of an art piece for permanent placement on public lands. Those rules make sense in the abstract, but the logic is lost when applied to the unique circumstances represented by "The Awakening." Okay, maybe it's more kitsch than art. Think, though, of the countless children who have clamored and climbed on it. Of the presidents who have jogged by its vista. Of the memorable pictures taken.
Creator J. Seward Johnson Jr. said it best back in 1990 when there was talk of relocating the sculpture. "Once a large piece of sculpture or something has been in place and has been accepted by the public, there's a certain wrenching when you take that away. It's like taking the nose off of someone's face."
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