On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced
that the National Mall was among the recipients of the first round of the National Park
Centennial Initiatives Centennial Challenge. The Trust for the National Mall, the only authorized
funding partner of the National Park Service (NPS) for the Mall, will raise $1.1 million in private
funds to match the $1.1 million of Centennial Challenge funds to improve directional and
educational signs and visitor information on the Mall.
Secretary Kempthorne has been a champion for the National Mall and we are thrilled he has
included the National Mall in the first round of Centennial Challenge projects, said Chip
Akridge, Chairman of the Trust for the National Mall. The strong public-private partnership
between the Trust for the National Mall and the National Park Service makes restoring the
National Mall to world-class status possible. We hope this is the first of many projects to be
funded.
With the Centennial Challenge funds and the Trusts matching contribution, $2.2 million will be
available to replace dated signs and maps on the Mall to assist the more than 25 million visitors
to the National Mall each year. The current maps on the Mall are outdated and dont include the
Korean Memorial, the WWII Memorial, or the Roosevelt Memorial.
Well soon install new, modern interpretive signs near important monuments and memorials on
the Mall, as well as new way-finder signs to help guide visitors to other downtown locations near
the Mall. Both will improve the visitor experience so that our visitors take away a more lasting
and enjoyable memory of their visit to our nations capital, said Secretary Kempthorne at
yesterdays announcement.
This joint effort is an important first step in the process of restoring and repairing the National
Mall, Americas Front Yard, said Akridge. The Trust and its supporters are proud to help in
this special mission.
The NPS currently faces $5 billion of repairs for parks across the country, $350 million for the
National Mall alone. In 2006, President George W. Bush announced the National Park
Centennial Initiative in preparation for the National Park Service's 100th anniversary in 2016,
promising an additional $100 million in federal funds each year for ten years for the NPS's
