Voices of Volunteers: Morgan Anderson
Morgan Anderson has been volunteering at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial since its opening in September 2020, but her involvement began with the Memorial’s groundbreaking in 2017 as a member of Senator Pat Roberts’s team. Morgan is a native Kansan, and her childhood visits to Eisenhower’s home in Abilene first sparked her interest in Dwight Eisenhower, Morgan’s favorite president. Morgan's personal connections to Eisenhower and the Memorial give her a new perspective that has inspired many memorable visitor connections on site, including enriching Major General John F. Hussey, Commanding General of the 200th Military Police Command’s trip to the 34th President’s memorial.
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NEWS RELEASE: #BloomCam Returns and Highlights the Needs for Long Term Care & Maintenance
The Trust for the National Mall and The National Cherry Blossom Festival are thrilled to announce the return of #BloomCam to track #BlossomWatch, the most anticipated event of the year on the National Mall. Live feed of the Tidal Basin will be available during the peak bloom period here: https://nationalmall.org/bloomcam and will allow people from around the world to virtually view the beloved blossoming cherry trees along the Tidal Basin in real time as they bloom.
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The Women Who Planted The Cherry Trees on the National Mall
The cherry trees on the National Mall have more than 100 years of rich and vibrant history. At the root of their story are a few powerful and trailblazing women who have changed the National Mall environment to how we know it today. As our community comes together to celebrate the cherry blossom season, the Trust for the National Mall is celebrating Women’s History Month, recognizing the women who aligned their strengths to enrich the National Mall with our iconic cherry trees.
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What Does it Take to Protect the 20,000+ Trees on the National Mall?
The National Mall and Memorial Parks (NAMA) Division of the National Park Service is looking to the future of tree management on the National Mall, and are implementing innovative solutions to protect both the national landscape of the National Mall and to ensure the safety of park visitors.
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The Influence of African Americans on the National Mall
Throughout the National Mall’s history, African Americans have helped shape every aspect of its development: from the land and buildings to the ways in which we view and experience this iconic space. Below we highlight some of the African American thought leaders, community leaders, business leaders, performers and others who have influenced the National Mall and who continue to build its robust future.
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History, Heroes, and Hope Award
The Trust for the National Mall developed the History, Heroes and Hope Award in 2014 to honor the spirit and ideals that the National Mall represents for our country. The Award has recognized dedicated public servants, long-time volunteers, and patriotic donors, all committed to restoring, enriching, and preserving our National Mall.
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Memorable Images from the Inaugural Week
The National Mall was stunning during the inaugural events this week. While there were many changes to traditional events, the National Mall – “America’s Front Yard” – with its iconic monuments and memorials continues to serve as a meaningful backdrop to this historic experience.
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Antiques and The Arts Weekly: Proposed Redesigns For Washington, DC's Tidal Basin
Compiled by Madella Hickman Ring, Antiques and The Arts Weekly, January 22, 2021
Tidal Basin Ideas Lab has unveiled proposals from five leading landscape architecture firms that reimagine the future of Washington, DC’s iconic Tidal Basin and National Mall.
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Core Areas of National Mall to Close Through January 21 in Support of the 59th Presidential Inauguration
The National Park Service, at the request of and in cooperation with the United States Secret Service, will implement a temporary public closure of the National Mall beginning at 11 a.m. on Friday, January 15 and extending through at least Thursday, January 21.
More information about specific closures is available online at http://www.nps.gov/inauguration.
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Sharing our TOP 10 from 2020, with thanks to YOU
As we look back on this unusual year and look ahead with hope and optimism for the year ahead, I want to pause, reflect and thank you for being part of the Trust for the National Mall community.
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Renowned landscape architects unveil designs to save the Tidal Basin
By Lucy Wang, Inhabitat, November 20, 2020
The National Mall Tidal Basin — also known as “America’s front yard” — is home to some of the nation’s most iconic landmarks such as the Jefferson Memorial, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial and the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. But the beloved Washington, D.C. public space is under threat from daily flooding and is in urgent need of critical repairs and improvements. In a bid to save the celebrated landscape, five prestigious landscape architecture firms — DLANDstudio, GGN, Hood Design Studio, James Corner Field Operations and Reed Hilderbrand — have been tapped to reimagine the future of the Tidal Basin and National Mall. Keep reading for a preview of all the designs.
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Washington Gardener: Tidal Basin Ideas Lab Launched to Address Landmark's Urgent Needs
By Nicole Noechel, Washington Gardener, November 2020
Over the past 10 years, Washington’s historic Tidal Basin has experienced worsening daily flooding and crumbling infrastructure, according to the Trust for the National Mall’s Executive Vice President, Teresa Durkin…To address these problems, the Trust for the National Mall, along with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and civic partner Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, have teamed up to create the online Tidal Basin Ideas Lab with five reconstruction plans by world-renowned architects and design firms.
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Voices of Veterans and Volunteers: Wilbur Snynder
Wilbur Snyder, a West Point graduate, served for twenty-five years in active duty. He was stationed in Germany, studied Russian, served in the Pentagon in the intelligence part of joint staff doing arms control inspections in the former Soviet Union, and served one tour at Fort Bragg, North Carolina in a unique unit called the Psychological Operations. He is a volunteer at the newly-opened Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial.
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Voices of Veterans and Volunteers: Don Adam
Veteran Don Adam has been a volunteer on the National Mall with the National Park Service since 2002. Adam has volunteered over 20,000 hours at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, in honor of his cousin and comrades who gave the ultimate sacrifice. On August 25, 2020 Adams received the George & Helen Hartzog Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service. The virtual ceremony was hosted by the National Park Foundation. Adams spent four years in the US Air Force from 1966 to 1970. He served in Japan and South Vietnam.
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Voices of Veterans and Volunteers: Hank Lazzaro
Veteran and volunteer on the National Mall Hank Lazzaro shares the importance of these memorials to educate visitors from around the world about the sacrifices the men and women made in conflict, and to heal those who served. Lazzaro served a 13-month tour in Vietnam and was in the Marine Corps Reserves, totaling 11 years of Marine Corps service. After he graduated from law school he spent 32 years with the Navy, retiring as a Captain. He was a Staff Sergeant in the Marine Corps; when he left there to go into the Navy to be Captain, he served in the Judge Advocate General Corps. In total, he had 11 years in active-duty time and 32 years reserve time.
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Voices of Veterans and Volunteers: Harry Miller
Retired Senior Master Sergeant of the U.S. Air Force, Harry F. Miller honorably served the United States from World War II through the Vietnam War. Over the course of his more than twenty-year career in the military, Miller experienced “The Battle of the Bulge,” tours in Vietnam, Korea and Japan, the Cuban Missle Crisis and so much in between.
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Voices of Veterans and Volunteers: Chip Akridge
As the Founder and Chairman of the commercial real estate firm bearing his name, John “Chip” Akridge is an innovator in the industry, a committed advocate of community initiatives in the Washington, D.C. region, and a dedicated supporter of philanthropic and charitable organizations. He has served as a member of the Economic Development and Executive Committees of the Federal City Council, and as chairman of the Greater Washington Board of Trade’s Emergency Preparedness Task Force. He has received numerous industry awards and is a strong advocate for the environment. He has served on the boards of leading environmental nonprofits and various agencies of the city government. Chip is a Distinguished Eagle Scout and a Vietnam veteran.
We talked with Chip about his own experience as a veteran, what he hopes visitors take away from their visits to the memorials, and what he wants to share with those who can’t be here in person.
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Voices of Veterans and Volunteers
We asked a select group of veterans -- some of whom are in our volunteer corps -- to share stories about their service to the nation and how their acts and views of service have evolved over time. They share a range of experiences and their personal perspectives on what the memorials on the National Mall mean to them, and what they hope others will find when they visit these special, iconic places. By bringing their stories to our readers, we hope you will be inspired to learn more about their lives and to learn more about the veterans in your own lives who have stories to share.
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dezeen: Five proposals to protect Washington DC's Tidal Basin from climate change
By Eleanor Gibson, dezeen
A bridge to the White House and man-made islands are among the conceptual proposals five architecture studios have developed for preserving Washington DC's Tidal Basin reservoir and the National Mall.
DLANDstudio, GGN, James Corner Field Operations, Hood Design Studio and Reed Hilderbrand all created schemes to reimagine the site for Tidal Basin Ideas Lab – organised by National Trust for Historic Preservation, Trust for the National Mall, the National Park Service and architecture firm SOM.
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Designboom: Ideas Lab unveils proposals to save Washington DC's sinking Tidal Basin
By Kat Barandy, designboom
With the ‘Tidal Basin Ideas Lab’ exhibition, a team of designers unveil proposals to reimagine the sinking tidal basin at Washington D.C.’s National Mall. The team includes leading landscape architects DLANDstudio, GGN,Hood Design Studio, James CornerField Operations, and Reed Hilderbrand. the area includes memorials to Thomas Jefferson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and martin Luther king jr. as nearly 1.5 million people walk along the basin’s rim during the annual cherry blossom festival each spring, the increased car and foot traffic have driven parts of the tidal basin area underwater while the walkways flood daily.
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