Our National Mall Coalition lost a visionary Board member and enthusiastic champion of the National Mall with the death of Albert H. Small on October 3, 2021.
A third-generation Washingtonian, as he would proudly proclaim, Albert was well known and beloved throughout the Washington philanthropic community. He was a passionate student of American history, a collector of Washington memorabilia, and a generous supporter of cultural institutions from the Library of Congress to the Kennedy Center. He lined the walls of his real estate development business, Southern Engineering Corporation, with his prized collection of Washington maps, prints, and historical documents. He donated his collection in 2011 to George Washington University; GWU’s memorial tribute attests to his far-ranging legacy.
When Albert first contacted the Coalition in 2007, his primary goal was to ask our help to make the Mall museum collections more accessible to local residents, students, and families. He envisioned an underground parking garage, a concept that had been proposed since the 1970s by the National Park Service and the Smithsonian but never seriously developed. We began conversations to develop the garage concept – which we all understood would be resisted by federal agencies opposed to car parking – to include other much-needed purposes. Albert’s original idea was the inspiration for what finally evolved into the Coalition’s multi-purpose National Mall Underground floodwater reservoir-bus parking-visitors services-geothermal facility.
Albert didn’t just talk the talk of civic good, which he did with passion, he also walked the walk – literally. Well into his late 80s, he walked the halls of Congress to build support for tackling the many challenges the Mall faces, especially the threat of catastrophic flooding. Understanding the need for public outreach to build support for the Underground, he offered vacant retail space in one of his downtown office buildings for the Coalition’s exhibition during 2013 and 2014. In true Albert fashion – no get-together or meeting was complete without bowls of chocolates, nuts, candy – he’d stop into the exhibit to replenish the front desk candy jar.
We will miss his indefatigable spirit, his unwavering dedication to promoting the common good, and his infectious sense of humor.
Our condolences to the Small family and to Albert’s many friends.
