America’s Front Yard

Reflections on the National Mall

A Flashback

I ran across a piece someone wrote a few days ago that mentioned in passing the National Mall, in the heart of Washington, DC. For some reason, it brought back a flood of memories I thought worth sharing. It is one of those places easily put into the mental background and forgotten or taken for granted. The Mall deserves better, for several reasons we shall discuss momentarily. As a symbol and as a gathering place, it offers us much.

My First Attentive Look at the Mall

Like many people, I have been on the Mall often over the years. Mostly it was a transit zone, something to cross enroute to the next museum. But when I moved to the DC area many years ago, I began to pay more attention. Just before moving there, I was in the area on business and could not help but notice the mall was in terrible shape. It was beat up from overuse; it looked exhausted.

As it turned out, new president Bill Clinton noted the same thing at about the same time and so one of the first pieces of legislation the new Administration submitted was a modest program to restore this central piece of the nation’s capital. You would have thought he had proposed building the Taj Mahal. The Republicans in Congress wailed at this “waste of taxpayer funds, this Washington centered spending.”

I thought to myself how sad that was. So many things happen on the Mall, things large and small, so often important, or at least moving for those involved. To let it look shabby was miserly, and frankly embarrassing to our country. If you have not spent much time on the Mall, you would be impressed with the number of foreign visitors the Mall welcomes every day. This is, as others have said, our “national front yard,” and we should take some pride in caring for it. Happily, the repairs and upgrades finally were approved. I was just on the Mall a few weeks ago and am happy to report it looks great.

The Mall After 9/11

I lived in the DC area on 9/11. My office shook from the impact of the plane that hit the Pentagon. By that night, we had largely sorted out what had happened. We were under direct terrorist attack in the heart of our homeland.

The next morning, I felt compelled to go into Washington, and to go on the Mall. In a sense I was looking for a way to communicate to those who did this terrible thing. In feeling less than elegant language, I was attempting to say to the perpetrators, “Screw you! You think you can intimidate this country? You think you can make us afraid to be in our own capital? Forget it! You will pay for this, and we will not be cowered.”

I was moved, and a bit surprised, to find I was not alone. A good number of people were on the Mall that day, for much the same reasons. On that day, we were all Americans and we stood together. It felt good.

The Mall All The Time, Anytime

The Mall is always a great place to visit. Not just a transit zone, but a destination all its own. On any given day, you may run across famous and powerful people, either transiting the Mall or visiting it themselves for a moment of reflection. You are likely to see dozens, if not hundreds of families from all over the country. As mentioned earlier, you will see many, many foreigners, the Mall brought to light with their different clothing, languages, and perspectives.

There are regular informal softball teams that can take up part of the Mall to play ball. People bring footballs and soccer balls and all sorts of other items of amusement to enjoy. When the wind is right, it’s a great place to fly a kite; I have lost count of how many young ones I have seen learning from Dad how to fly a kite on that Mall.

Look in all directions and you see arguably the best collection of museums in the world, all within walking distance. These are monuments to our aspirations and nature as a nation. If you don’t get run over by bicycles or Segway scooters, you can easily visit the best of what the nation offers.

I never tire of seeing the original copies of the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution – it is almost a religious experience. The Air & Space Museum is nearly perfect. The National Gallery of Art would take years to soak up. The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the newest star on the Mall, and it is powerful. And so very much more, all right there.

And not far at all, more awaits you: the Jefferson Memorial, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, the WWII Memorial, the Vietnam Wall and the Koran War Memorials. The US Capitol (much less accessible than it used to be), the Supreme Court, the magnificent Library of Congress (I have a card that lets me wander among the stacks – thought I would never leave), Union Station, the White House – on and on it goes. What a place, all revolving around our Mall.

Your Turn

If you have never spent time on our Mall, get off your butt and make the trip. It is, after all, your Mall. Go soak it up. If you have been there before, when you return, take some time to walk it slowly and to sit for a while and experience all that is around you: the people, the landscaping, the centers of learning, science, and culture. It is one of the best parts of America – it is an amalgamation of us.

See you next week.

Bill Clontz

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