Comments on: Turning Point for the National Mall?

By: National Park Service Unveils Plan for the National Mall | Around The Mall

National Park Service Unveils Plan for the National Mall | Around The Mall — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:02:31 +0000

[...] place for us here at ATM (Around the Mall). So when it seems like people are losing touch with the purpose for the green space or that it is showing signs of disrepair, naturally, we are concerned. We talk [...]

By: State of the National Mall, Post-Inauguration | Around The Mall

State of the National Mall, Post-Inauguration | Around The Mall — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 20:30:51 +0000

[...] in response to newspaper and magazine articles discussing the vulnerable state of the Mall, I spoke with Cynthia Field, the Smithsonian’s architectural historian emeritus and author of The National [...]

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 02:27:12 +0000

The Mall is the spine that holds the allure of this city together. I fell in love with the Mall while watching films about the Smithsonian in fifth grade — knowing long before I ever set foot here that I would live here some day.

I made my first trip several years later with my dad and found the museums, Mall and whole city to be as magical as I thought. It might have taken me another 25 years or so to finally move to Washington, but I made it. Every time I’m on the Mall, I still think of the tremendous memories of my first several trips here … my dad, a girl I fell in love with on a Close-Up trip in 11th grade, the passion for history that was born in this town.

I hope to spend the rest of my career and my life within reach of the Mall. I love it that much.

By: Cynthia Field

Cynthia Field — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 04:17:20 +0000

It is a matter of great importance to the Smithsonian–and it should be–whether we have the authority over it or not ( we do not). However, we value history and education. We (the Smithsonian) understand symbolism and the value of beauty as for instance in our history museums and our art museums. The National Mall does stand for all of the above–even if it is also a playground and a gathering place too.

Cynthia R. Field, Ph.D.
co-editor and author for The National Mall: Rethinking our Nation’s Historic Core