By Judy Scott Feldman
The National Mall Coalition mourns the death of Arthur Cotton Moore FAIA, long-time vice chair of the Coalition and design visionary for the Coalition’s architectural and urban design proposals to improve the National Mall and ensure its continued vitality as the Stage for American Democracy.
The obituary in The Washington Post relates Moore’s decades worth of projects for his beloved home town, including his acclaimed renovation of the magnificent Library of Congress and his playful baroque design for Washington Harbour along the Potomac River.
My letter of appreciation in The Post points out that Moore continued until his death proposing design ideas that both respect the genius of Washington’s urban design plan and create innovative solutions to seemingly intractable problems. Moore’s expansion plan for the 3rd Century Mall and his design for the National Mall Underground floodwater cistern-geothermal field-bus parking facility are two examples of projects that deserve to be built.
The Coalition, the city of Washington, and the country have lost a true champion for our beautiful capital city.
UPDATE: Arthur Moore was honored on November 1st with the 2022 District of Columbia Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation for Lifetime Achievement by the DC Preservation League. Watch DCPL’s review of Moore’s work below.
• Judy Scott Feldman PhD is a founder and chair of the National Mall Coalition.
The Legacy of Arthur Cotton Moore
Judy Scott Feldman and Arthur Cotton Moore presenting at The DC Silver Jackets interagency flood risk management's 2nd Federal Triangle Area (FTA) Flood Workshop at the University of the District of Columbia,on September 5, 2018. (Offical US Army Photos by John Sokolowski)
