Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-03-18
Cities
''1 People
Wushington's
Competition
BY ROBERT J. LEWIS

~0 NAANo WIG Ia 1ohoIA SONC1A-
ment Is outdoing anything
ever attempted before to en-
courage the tourist trade.
"The cash customers may
be drifting away from cricket
and football, chilling to the
very marrow the guardians
of these rough island sports,
but when April comes again,
green and sweet, the high
ways and bywayS will be
choked with cars and coaches
headed for the embattled
piles and stately homes of
England" says this highly
literate, money-minded Brit
ish magazine.
Tourism is big business,
here, there and everywhere.
Under the circumstances,
Washington's concern over
keeping the good things we
already have makes more
sense than ever.
We don't have a Duke Of
Bedford'S Woburn Castle, or
a ChatSworth, Blenheim or
Beaulieu to bring in our fell
low Americans. But there is
Mount Vernon, thank good
ness, and other handsome
and historic places.
In the matter of historic
structures, the National
Trust for Historic PreServa-
ton is filling an increasingly
important role.
Recently the National Cap
ital Planning Commission
has also begun to take an in
terest in what appears to be
a worldwide surge to keep
the good things of the past.
Even ancient pubs" in
Britain are becoming sacro-
sanct.
To maintain buildings of
outstanding historic or cul-
tural merit, the British gov
eminent makes yearly grants
of SIS million.
+
MORE AND MORE tourists
are visiting Washington each
year. BY 1880, say the Stats
ticians, IS million will be
coming here annually.
If such an thrush develops,
a lot of new opportunities
will be created - and not
just for souvenir vendors.
Alrea dy, businessmen are
thinking of new shops, more
entertainment, other attrac-
tionS to cater to people from
the United States and over
seas. 1t won't be long before
world travellers begin to ar
rive through our jet-age
gateway at Dulles Airport.
AS the capital city, Wash
ington is a natural magnet
for Americans. A one time
visit is as much of a must"
as a pilgrimage to Mecca for
the MoSlem.
But a single visit is hardly
enough.
It's nice to come as a ma
tional duty for a few hours
or a few days. But it's an
other matter to be drawn
back, irresiStibly, again and
again.
A city needs more than the
Capitol Dome, the Washing
ton Monument, and the Lin
coin Memorial for that. True,
this city has much more to
offer the tourist than just
an inspiring look at these
three symbols.
But does it have enough,
in the face of fierce competi-
ton from all over the world,
to draw him back as often as
we would like to make him
welcome?
MANY PEOPLE believe it
will take more than historic
houseS-or even such exam
Piles of industrial and scien-
tific archaeology as the Smith
sonian so amply provides
to keep the tourists coming
back in astronomical num-
bers.
1t. Col. John Glenn's space
capsule will be a big attrac-
ton to the tourist of the
future. But competing cities,
we can be sure, have more up
their sleeves than history.
Downtown Amsterdam, for
example, was almost totally
destroyed during World War
II - and history almost
stopped.
Yet in Is years, this port
in the Netherlands h a S
erected more sculpture than
now exists in any city of