Stretching from the foot of the U.S. Capitol past the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial and over to the Jefferson Memorial, the National Mall celebrates our nation’s rich history and reflects who we are as a society to America and the world. The passage of time, however, has taken its toll. The National Mall, with 25 million annual visitors, has suffered from years of overuse and inadequate funding resulting in a state of disrepair. To save this historic symbol of our nation, the Trust for the National Mall, the official non-profit partner of the National Park Service, is dedicated to restoring and improving the National Mall.
The National Mall will be respectfully restored and improved so that the visitor experience is enhanced and that high levels of use can be better accommodated. The needs of all visitors and users will be met in a beautiful, convenient, high quality, energy-efficient and sustainable manner. The Plan also identifies specific places and provides conceptual and programmatic guidance for their improvement, including treasured places that are the focus of this competition.
To accomplish these goals the Trust for the National Mall sponsored a design competition for three key areas on the National Mall: Union Square at the foot of the US Capitol, Washington Monument grounds at Sylvan Theater, and Constitution Gardens. These three projects were addresses together to create a cohesive approach to meeting the needs of the National Mall’s current and growing levels of use while preparing it for the continued enjoyment of future generations.