January 21, 2009
Dear Coalition Friends:
What will be the future of the National Mall, this grand stage where American history happens? Will the public play a meaningful role in shaping that future?
Two very different approaches are laid out in two letters in The Washington Post, one from John Parsons, former associate director of the National Park Service, and the other from me, chair of the National Coalition to Save Our Mall.
My letter in today's Washington Post was in response to Mr. Parsons' from Sunday's "Close to Home" page. His piece follows mine below.
As one who grew up in Washington, D.C., and just spent two days reveling in this majestic place, I sense that the time truly has come for action by our elected leaders. Who of us can make this happen?
THE WASHINGTON POST
Wednesday, January 21, 2009; A10
John Parsons, a former associate director of the National Park Service, drew attention to the Mall's deterioration but called grass-roots efforts to find a creative long-term solution "misguided" ["The Future of the History Beneath Our Feet," Close to Home, Jan. 18].
This attitude toward thoughtful public involvement (and probably toward a new report, "Rethinking the National Mall") is precisely why an independent Mall commission composed of prominent Americans is urgently needed.
The Mall belongs to all Americans -- a reality demonstrated in magnificent and inspiring fashion in the past three days. As we start this new chapter in our nation's history, we call upon the new administration to work with Congress and District leaders to create a commission to coordinate the full range of Mall stakeholders -- including the National Park Service, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Gallery of Art, the architect of the Capitol and the public -- in creating a new vision for the Mall. The possibilities are tremendously exciting for all Americans.
We can rethink the future of this special place, the stage for our unique democracy, that symbolizes who we are as a people and tells our American story.
JUDY SCOTT FELDMAN
Chair and President
National Coalition to Save Our Mall
Rockville
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John Parsons
Sunday, January 18, 2009; B08
Millions of people are making the pilgrimage to Washington to bear witness to the historic inauguration of Barack Obama. So many people are coming that the Capitol grounds are inadequate to accommodate them. So the vast majority of the revelers will be standing on the nation's front yard: the Mall.
The 600-acre Mall extends two miles, from the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial at the foot of Capitol Hill to the Lincoln Memorial at the Potomac River. In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt and Congress determined that this great civic space was worthy of protection and stewardship by the National Park Service on behalf of all Americans and transferred jurisdiction over it to the Park Service from numerous other federal agencies. They did this with the cognizance of the important roles of the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission, which Congress established in 1910 and 1926, respectively, to oversee any planning and development by the Park Service and the agencies and institutions that flank this national treasure.
Today, the Park Service is undertaking a major planning effort to delineate the future of the Mall. As a former associate director of the Park Service, I think it must strike a balance to accommodate the impacts and conflicts between the millions of annual visitors who come to the Mall for education, recreation, celebration, commemoration and demonstration, while ensuring that it restores the Mall's proper status as the nation's most uniquely designed historic landscape.
Unfortunately, the maintenance and restoration of this majestic space has been hampered by a lot of arguing about who is in charge of the Mall's future. The National Coalition to Save Our Mall, for example, continues in its misguided effort to convince others of the wisdom of establishing a new commission to examine the future of the Mall. But, while four agencies flank the Mall and the District of Columbia has roads through it, the Park Service should clearly remain in charge of the day-to-day management and long-term vision for this precious resource.
If you attend the inaugural activities this week, you might see the central grass panels and the majestic elm trees that frame the Mall. They have deteriorated from overuse, which must be addressed in any future plans. The Trust for the National Mall, in partnership with the Park Service, is engaging the private sector in raising significant funds to help bring the maintenance and public services by the Park Service to a first-class level.
I would urge the National Coalition to Save Our Mall to support and aid the Park Service in the completion of its plan next spring, rather than continuing to propose the creation of another federal entity to meddle in the future of our nation's backyard.
-- John Parsons
Montgomery Village
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