Dear National Coalition to Save Our Mall Members and Friends:
Today’s Washington Post “Weekend” section has a fascinating front-page article on Pierre L’Enfant’s 1791 Plan for Washington and the National Mall titled, “The Man with the Plan” by Scott Berg (click on the link below to read it). We call your attention to the concluding remarks by J.L. Sibley Jennings, former chairman of the Olmsted Foundation. We couldn’t have said it better ourselves:
“I would tell people to walk across Independence Avenue and look at the Mall,” he continues, “at the people all over, some under the trees, some playing on the grass … L’Enfant wasn’t creating an impersonal monument to his own ego — he was creating a place for people.”
To view the entire article, click on: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24995-2002Jul18.html
SOME IMPORTANT EVENTS TO FOLLOW IN COMING DAYS:
1. Yesterday our attorney, Andrea Ferster, filed our “Plaintiffs Reply” to the Justice Department’s response to our writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court. The Justice Department’s formal response was dismissive of our arguments but Andrea’s Reply is a brilliant deconstruction of the Justice Department’s brief. We will be posting it on our website in the coming days.
2. The National Capital Planning Commission’s (NCPC) August 1st agenda includes “preliminary design approval” of the Washington Monument tunnel project. (http://www.ncpc.gov)
3. The NCPC released their Security Plan for Washington and the Mall. (http://www.ncpc.gov) The public has 60 days to respond to it. We welcome a plan to replace ugly security measures with fortified benches, planters, and other attractive measures. We will prepare our formal comments in the coming weeks.
Best regards,
Judy
Tags: Pierre L'Enfant, Washington Post
