America's Unkempt Front Yard

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A Landmark Shows Its Wear

With its rusty fixtures, peeling paint and trampled lawn, the Mall has long been in need of a facelift.

» LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY

"This is just one of the areas where there wasn't a vocal enough constituency," said John E. "Chip" Akridge, chairman of the Trust for the National Mall, which estimates $100 million is needed for building repairs, new restrooms and restaurants.

In 2006 the Bush administration unveiled the Centennial Initiative, proposing that up to $100 million in federal money be spent annually on the park system for 10 years. The goal was to generate, along with private donations, as much as $3 billion by the time the Park Service marks its 100th anniversary in 2016.

But this year, the initiative only got $24.6 million in federal funds and $27 million in philanthropic contributions. In April, it announced the first funding of, among other things, the Mall sign project.

The House interior and the environment appropriations subcommittee recommended a separate $100 million appropriation to redress what Chairman Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) called the "lack of investment in necessary maintenance." In an interview, he called the Mall's condition "marginal."

"The Park Service has been underfunded," he said. "Things just weren't taken as good a care of as they should have been."

Thanks to the Park Service, much of the Mall, flanked by grand museums and public structures, still dazzles. Many tourists say it doesn't look that bad.

"I think it's amazing, considering the amount of people, the amount of heavy traffic here," Patrick Crofton, 58, of Philadelphia said recently as he stood near the Washington Monument. "I'm pretty impressed."

But Mall visitor Shanti Corrigan, 39, of Berkeley, Calif., who lived in the District in the 1990s, said: "I don't think it looks that great, compared to when I used to live here. They haven't created the kind of welcoming environment you would want for the nation's capital."

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, enhanced security on the Mall has been a priority. Barriers have gone up at the Washington Monument and are almost finished at the Lincoln Memorial. A temporary lighting system is in place along the Lincoln reflecting pool.

Many local officials, residents and advocates say the Mall's condition has badly deteriorated. At a congressional hearing last month, it was described as decrepit.

Tourists sometimes "take the 30,000-foot view," said Akridge, who called the Mall "a disgrace" at the hearing and has lobbied Congress on its behalf.

"You're looking at those iconic structures," he said. "The long view is fabulous. You need to look at the 30-foot view. That's where it becomes pretty bad."