Preserving the sweeping vistas on the Mall, included in the original plans for the city, has also been a bone of contention. With approval of the revised design for the WWII memorial, that appears to have been done. Careful concern, too, is warranted regarding the sheer number of memorials placed on the Mall. The axis that includes both the two-mile stretch from the US Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial, as well as the line of sight from the Jefferson and Washington Memorials to the White House, has a long history as a place for the nation to congregate. Leaving space for that freedom of expression is paramount.
Memorials bring an immense number of tourist dollars to the District of Columbia.
Others in and around the Mall are planned. But when the desire for those dollars competes with aesthetics and the commemoration of history, something is decidedly amiss. The Christian Science Publishing Society. All rights reserved.