The National Park Service is scheduled to announce officially today a partnership with a nonprofit group that is
expected to bring more money to improve the Mall.
The Trust for the National Mall group will primarily raise money for the restoration and preservation of the Mall,
which draws 25 million visitors each year. The group also will be involved in potential plans to upgrade facilities
and add restrooms and food services. However, the park service's National Mall Plan, due in 2008, will include
the exact plans.
The Mall is in serious need of renovation and was part of the original list of certified eligible projects from
President Bush's National Park Centennial Initiative. The plan calls for $1 billion in federal support of U.S. national
parks over a 10 year period, and challenges the private sector to match with another $100 million annually.
The announcement will be made at a press conference this morning that will include Interior Secretary Dirk
Kempthorne, National Park Service Deputy Director Lindi L. Harvey, National Mall and Memorial Parks
Superintendent Peggy O'Dell, and Trust Chairman Chip Akridge of the District-based Akridge development
company.
Similar partnerships have worked in other major U.S. parks, including New York City's Central Park and the
Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.
After Central Park took a sharp downturn in the 1960s and '70s, the nonprofit Central Park Conservancy was
founded in 1980 to restore the park's 843 acres to their original quality. Today, the conservancy provides 85
percent of the park's $25 million annual budget and has largely improved the property and its facilities.
Among the other problems cited at the Mall are the monuments needing repairs and the barren stretches of land.
"The green space on the Mall has been largely destroyed," Trust President Caroline Cunningham said yesterday.
Mrs. Cunningham also said the Tidal Basin's sea wall is breached twice a day by the tide, which is destroying the
plaza in front of the Jefferson Memorial.
Trust officials also said even the 27 maps guiding tourists around the Mall are now more than 20 years old, so
they do not have the Roosevelt or Korean War monuments marked.
