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Articles
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| Partnership launched to restore National Mall |
VOICE writes, "By Hannah Rexroth
George Washington, or someone who looked a lot like him, showed up at the South Interior Building recently to celebrate a partnership to restore and preserve the National Mall where Washington’s monument stands.
“The mall is the front yard to all Americans,” said Chip Akridge, chair of the Trust for the National Mall, a nonprofit group that is raising money to restore the Mall. “It sees 25 million visitors annually. If you go and take a walk on the mall, you’ll see a park that is loved to death.”
Thirty years have passed since the Mall’s last major renovation, and the park service is planning a $350 million repair and maintenance project to make it a “world class” park, according to Akridge. The National Park Service has partnered with the Trust for the National Mall to do the renovations. "
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The trust is part of the National Park Centennial Initiative that was launched last year by President George W. Bush. The initiative is a 10-year plan to restore national parks in time for the park service’s 100th anniversary in 2016.
“We have a big green space, but it is unworthy of what the founders wanted it to become, of what they wanted the city to become,” said D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes-Norton, who was joined by other dignitaries, including Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, on Nov. 15 for the announcement. “We want the Mall go come alive and be a people place.”
Norton said that she would like to see more food stands, activities for kids, live outdoor concerts and accessible bathrooms.
Their greatest goal is to create something that is an icon to the rest of the world, and worthy of what the founders envisioned, said Kempthorne. “Leading architects from around the world should want to come and see it to see what landscape should be,” he said.
The trust has not decided which projects it will fund, but plans to examine the Mall’s needs and designate funds accordingly, according to Bill Line, National Park Service spokesperson. He said the area surrounding the Thomas Jefferson Memorial may be one of the projects.
“They’re going to examine the Jefferson Memorial seawall, which is subsiding. The Jefferson Memorial itself is not sinking, it’s the seawall,” he said, adding that the park service is also considering putting signs on the Mall in multiple languages for international visitors.
Students from the Ann Beers Elementary School, who were hoping to assist with planting 3,000 daffodil bulbs along the Mall following the event, were forced to postpone the planting due to the rainy day.
“I’m mad that it rained because I was excited to plant flowers,” said 10-year-old Ronnice Edwards. Edwards said that she is excited to see changes on the Mall.
“I think the Mall is a nice, fun place with a lot of grass. But I would like to see flowers all over and more statues of the people who came here first,” she said.
Donald De Haven, impersonating George Washington, spoke to the children about the country’s founders and the Constitution, which included a provision for the District.
De Haven, who classifies himself as a “character interpreter,” said Americans owe a debt to Pierre L’Enfant, who designed the original Mall.
“If it weren’t for him, we probably wouldn’t even have a National Mall,” he said, clutching his tri-cornered hat. “I think this plan to restore the Mall is wonderful. It would be wonderful to get some descriptive sculptures. If aliens came from Mars and saw the city, they would think all we ever did was make war.”
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Posted on Nov 26, 2007 21:11pm.
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