Fairfax, Virginia, Breaks Off Talks on Cold War Museum

Fairfax County park officials have ceased talks with the son of downed U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers to build a Cold War museum on a former antiaircraft-missile site in Lorton, with both sides saying this week that the museum could not raise enough money.

Capping three years of negotiations, the Fairfax County Park Authority's board last week decided not to extend an April deadline for talks, leaving plans for a permanent museum in limbo. Both sides said that the public-private proposal could be resubmitted to the Park Authority but that the museum's organizers would need to conduct several costly studies all over again and secure commitments for funds that have so far eluded the venture.

"The bottom line is we did not generate enough pledges or money to satisfy the Park Authority," said Francis Gary Powers Jr., 43, who lives in Midlothian near Richmond. "I don't know that it would be worth it to reapply."

Supervisor Gerald W. Hyland (D-Mount Vernon) called news of the impasse "a disappointment" to residents who had hoped that the Cold War museum would draw visitors and dollars to the area.

Hyland said the plan made sense because the museum would have made use of a site where the United States once deployed Nike missiles to protect against Soviet nuclear bombers. Hyland said a Cold War museum in Lorton also would draw some of the same visitors as the National Museum of the United States Army, which is planned for Fort Belvoir.

"I'm very disheartened," said Irma Clifton, president of the Lorton Heritage Society. "I think it was the perfect opportunity to tell the story of that part of our history where it actually happened."

Powers developed the idea of the museum, in part to honor the memory of his father, who was shot down May 1, 1960, while flying a spy plane over the Soviet Union. The Eisenhower administration initially denied the flight's purpose; Powers had been provided by the CIA with poison to take his own life in the event of capture. But then-Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev produced Powers alive and used the incident to embarrass the United States on the eve of a major summit.

Powers, who was tried, convicted and sentenced to prison, was later exchanged for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel. Powers died at age 47 on Aug. 1, 1977, while working as a traffic reporter for a Los Angeles TV station. His helicopter ran out of fuel and crashed.

The younger Powers, who submitted his $4 million proposal to the county in January 2005, said he found himself in a Catch-22 situation because the county wanted proof of adequate financing before it would lease the property and several wealthy donors were ready to write checks so long as he had a lease for the site.

But Kirk Holley, manager of special projects for the Park Authority, said that after three years of negotiations, officials could not justify further time and resources on a plan that was not financially viable. Park officials also questioned whether the museum would be able to compete with the International Spy Museum in the District.

Powers said the Cold War museum has amassed $3 million in artifacts, including a Soviet SA-2 air defense missile. The museum also has a traveling exhibit and set up a partnership with Fairfax County schools that allowed students to conduct interviews with Cold War figures for an oral history project.

Hyland said he hoped the idea could be revived, especially since park officials have no other plan for the site.

"The door is not closed," Hyland said. "They have nothing planned for that site. I think a lot of folks will hold out hope that this can still happen."