Founding Father As Functional Art
Power Plant's Plan for Washington Mural Meets Objections

By Annie Gowen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 8, 2007

What better way to camouflage up to 80,000 tons of coal stored along the Potomac River than with an enormous mural depicting the life of George Washington? Or not.

Just in time for the president's birthday anniversary, a Revolutionary War-size battle is brewing in Alexandria over plans to build a 1,200-foot mural along the busy Mount Vernon bike trail.

On one side are officials from the Mirant power plant, a noisy, coal-fired generator on the river that the city has tried unsuccessfully to get rid of for years. Plant officials thought a mural showing scenes of Washington's life in Alexandria -- his carriage passing historic Christ Church, for example -- would be just the ticket to soothe unhappy residents and an excellent concealer for its lumpy coal pile.

On the other side are Alexandria officials and activists who have decried the proposal as a cheap public relations stunt. The plan is causing hand-wringing at the National Park Service and U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, which say the mural will mar the historic waterfront and be visible as far away as Prince George's County and to people flying into Reagan National Airport.

"What the heck do we need a mural there for?" groused the city's vice mayor, Andrew H. Macdonald (D). "You can go to Mount Vernon if you want George Washington! It's ridiculous."

Officials from Atlanta-based Mirant Corp. told the city in late December of plans for the George Washington Mural Park, an elaborate series of panels to be painted on a new cedar fence at the plant that runs a quarter-mile along the Mount Vernon trail, one of the busiest National Park Service trails in the country.

In January, Mirant commissioned two local artists to paint the estimated $430,000 mural with nine scenes from Washington's life, including life-size depictions of him surveying canals at Great Falls and farming at Mount Vernon.

The last section of the mural, closest to the steel-girded facade of the plant, was to have trompe l'oeil images of Washington through history -- on dollar bills and stamps.

Sculptor Chris Erney, 38, of Alexandria said he and fellow artist Patrick Kirwin have been working "literally seven days a week" on the project and were just finishing a sample panel for an elaborate announcement ceremony planned for Feb. 19, Presidents' Day.

Now the unveiling is in question.

Bob Driscoll, chief executive of Mirant Mid-Atlantic, said that plant officials were initially encouraged by city and Park Service officials, who later began backing away from the project as controversy arose.

Alexandria Mayor William D. Euille (D) issued a statement yesterday that called the mural an "interesting concept" that would "substantially change how the City of Alexandria appears to our neighbors and to Potomac River traffic, as well as to park trail users." He urged Mirant to get "widespread public input" before proceeding.

David Vela, the superintendent of George Washington Memorial Parkway, did not return telephone messages for comment.

"There seems to be growing opposition," Driscoll said. "We are still in consultation and are wanting to hear more from the city."

Driscoll said he was "surprised, quite honestly," at the negative attention the plan has received, but if it becomes clear that the city is firmly against the proposal, Mirant will cancel it.

"We want to demonstrate we're good citizens of Alexandria," he said. "We thought this was one step that could improve the view of the plant from the Potomac River and from the bike path."

Over the years, relations between the city and the coal-fired plant have been shaky at best. City officials have long sought unsuccessfully to shut it down.

The plant was shuttered briefly during summer 2005 for environmental violations but reopened with stricter environmental controls. It also has the backing of the Energy Department and other federal agencies, which have made it clear in a series of rulings that its operation is necessary for the security of the region's power grid.

Nevertheless, its existence rankles some.

"They could hire Picasso but that doesn't change the fact Mirant is polluting our community and needs to be shut down," said U.S. Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.), whose district includes Alexandria.

Other federal officials have worried about the mural's impact on the historic waterfront, visible to tourists passing on boats from the District, and, soon, those arriving from the planned National Harbor complex in Prince George's.

"It's just so huge!" said Thomas Luebke, secretary of the fine arts commission, which oversees architecture in the federal city. "It would have a negative visual impact on the natural setting of the Potomac River. . . . It wants to educate people with the kind of information you'd expect to see in a museum or a historic site, not on a jogging trail."

Why not just paint the wall and plant some shrubs? Luebke mused. Or, as Macdonald suggested: "George Washington loved redbuds. Why not plant some of the plants he loved?"