Washington Business Journal on National Mall Gateway Providing Access During Shutdown
Washington Business Journal SPOTLIGHTS TRUST’S NEW National Mall Gateway
Daniel Sernovitz of the Washington Business Journal highlighted the National Mall Gateway in an October 3, 2025 story, “D.C. Tourism Industry Responds to the Government Shutdown.” Read an excerpt and explore the full story below.
“The Trust for the National Mall, the nonprofit that raises money to help maintain “American's front yard,” in September launched the National Mall Gateway featuring photos, educational videos and 360-degree video tours.
“It wasn't specifically launched in anticipation of a government shutdown, but the timing works. In fact, its seeds were planted during the Covid-19 pandemic, when many of those same sites were closed to the public to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
“The site, developed in partnership with the National Park Service, takes visitors the historic Lockkeeper's House, which dates to 1837, and the U.S. Park Police Horse Stables and Education Center.
"Right now, with the shutdown closings that are happening, it's like, 'Oh, we can't do this tour on the Mall,'" trust President and CEO Catherine Townsend told me in an interview. "Well, we have a 360 of the Lockkeeper's House and the horse stables, so people can visit without actually visiting."
“The trust has taken an active role in projects like the Lockkeeper's House, which was boarded up for 40 years before it reopened as a sort of mini-museum, the U.S. Park Police Horse Stables and Education Center, which opened in 2023, and the planned renewal of historic Lafayette Park.
“With the gateway, it set out to enhance the experience for in-person visitors, make it possible for others to take in those sites from afar, and to provide an educational opportunity for students in classrooms around the world to learn more about those places and the people that inspired them, per Jeremy Goldstein, vice president of education programs at the Trust. Put another way, "We wanted to bring the Mall to people in a way that it's never been seen before."The trust launched the site on Sept. 17, which is also Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, which recognizes the day in 1787 when the U.S. Constitution was adopted.