DC War Memorial Controvery
Since AOI's 2010 Memorial Day event recognizing the 90th anniversary of the District of Columbia's World War I 16th Street Tree Memorial, more controversy has arisen regarding congressional bills calling for redesignating the District's War Memorial (in Ash Grove on Ohio Drive) as a National World War I Memorial. With the encouragement of AOI member Joe Grano, the AOI has taken a strong stance against this usurption of our War Memorial and have communicated our displeasure to Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton who has, in turn, introduced her own House Resolution telling Sen. Rockefeller (WV) and Cong. Ted Poe (TX) to keep their hands off the D.C. War Memorial.
Since this issue has come to light, the AOI has stronly encouraged Cong. Norton and District Officials to take a firm stance against these intiatives and we have corresponded with the National Capital Planning Commission, the Commission on Fine Arts and testified before the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission and the House Committee on Natural Resources. In addition to opposing the redesignation of the DC War Memorial as a National World War I Memorial, the AOI has called for recognizing Pershing Park and the American Expeditionary Forces Memorial as a National World War I Memorial.
Below are links to all of AOI's correspondence regarding this most important issue. We will add more as events unfold.
WWI Memorial Concerns to Norton
World War I Memorial Graphics
Testimony Before the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission
HR 346 - WWI Memorial
TBD.COM's Coverage of the WWI Memorial Issue
WWI Mem NMAC Letter to Senate 8-2-2011
WWI NCMAC Letter to House 8-2-2011
WWI Memorial Alternative to Norton - Follow-up
World War I Project Correspondence
AOI's Response to World War I Memorial Project
Letter to Mayor Gray Regarding Reopening of DC War Memorial
Nov. 3 Press Release - DC War Memorial Reopening
DCist.com Renovated DC War Memorial Renovated
Los Angeles Times Covers Re-opening of DC War Memorial
Washington Times Covers the Re-opening of the DC War Memorial
DC Council's DC War Memorial Resolution of 2011 (CER19-0150)
AOI's Published Letter to the Editor - Washington Post, Dec. 4, 2011, "Time Is Running Out!"
Read the Washington Examiner's Liz Farmer's Story Here
Listen to WAMU-FM Bill Redlin's account of AOI's efforts to keep the DC War Memorial DC's
Read the Huffingtonpost's Article on AOI's Efforts
Read the Washington Post's Account of AOI's Efforts
View Fox5's NewsEdge Broadcast of 12-28-2011 and additional Fox5 Clips
WTOP Radio's Web Site Coverage
Invitation to Testify before House Cmte. on Natural Resources
Congresswoman Norton's Press Conference Opposing Re-name DC War Memorial
John Kelly's Column Covering Pending Hearing
Washington Times' Tom Howell, Jr's. Story
Testimony Before the House Committee on Natural Resources
The Washington Times' Tom Howell, Jr's. Follow-up Article
The Post's John Kelly's Follow-up Article
House Cmte. on Natural Resources where you can view a video of the hearing
What? Pershing Park IS on the Mall!
We highly suggest that if you care about the District maintaining its War Memorial (dedicated in 1931), are concerned about adding more memorials to the National Mall (currently prohibited by Congress) but believe that the existing Pershing Park would be a fitting tribute as a National World War I Memorial, you will want to read the above correspondence.
Re-opening of DC War Memorial - Nov. 10, 2011
AOI Members & Community Jointly Commemorate the
District's World War I 16th Street Tree Memorial
Twenty-eight AOI members, neighbors and dignitaries joined together at 16th & Alaska Avenue, NW on Memorial Day 2010 to commemorate the 1910 dedication of the District's World War I 16th Street Tree Memorial (not to be confused with the DC WWI Memorial in Ash Grove on the Mall).
DC Councilman Phil Mendelson read the Ceremonial Resolution that he introduced and was passed by the DC Council on May 4, 2010, recognizing the 90th Anniversary of the memorial's dedication and calling upon stakeholders to rededicate the memorial on its centennial, May 31, 2020. AOI is calling for the placement of appropriate commemorative waysides (informational markers) at both 16th & Alaska Avenue and at 16th & Varnum St (the southern most point of the 2.3 mile long memorial) in time for the 2020 centennial of the memorial.
To read the DC Council's Ceremonial Resolution, click here: DC Council Ceremonial Resolution
To read Washington Post columnist John Kelly's poignant account of two District brothers included in the Tree Memorial, click here: John Kelly's Washington (5/31/2010)
View an abbreviated video of the event here:
View Carroll Gibb's account of one of the fallen heroes here:
View Nelson Rimensnyder's remarks on YouTube here:
AOI Members Commemorate the WWI Tree Memorial
DC Councilmember Phil Mendelson reads the Ceremonial Resolution he introduced which was passed by the Council on May 4, 2010
The AOI Continues to Monitor Plans for Changes to Union Station's Great Hall
In 2010, the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation proposed cutting a huge hole in the middle of the staton's great hall to provide escalator/elevator access to a new, lower-level shopping area and include a new glass & stainless steel mezzanine above. See the USRC's plans via this link: Union Station Final Combined Plan from 2010.
The AOI, along with many preservation groups and concerned citizens, took a strong stance against the proposed changes. Read our correspondence here: Union Station Grand Hall Opposition Letter to USRC 08-05-2010
Now the USRC has revised their plans considerably in response to the concerns expressed last year. You can view the revised plans here: Revised Union Station Plan 2011 ...
... and the AOI's response to the revised plans Union Station Grand Hall Qualified Support Letter to USRC 08-25-2011.
We will keep you posted on this important development.
AOI Lends Support to Rhodes Tavern Society's New Call Box Project
On Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009 at 1pm, AOI Member Joseph Grano, who is President of the Rhodes Tavern-DC Heritage Society, together with supporters and friends unveiled the first of four restored call boxes along F Street. The first to be unveiled was at the corner of 10th and F Street just steps away from Ford's Theatre. In addition to the AOI, sponsors included: PNC Bank, the Old Ebbitt Grill, Madame Tussauds Museum, Austin Kiplinger and John Cosgrove in honor of the National Press Club as well as support from Cultural Tourism DC and several DC agencies.
The first call box honors Abraham Lincon on the occassion of the 200th anniversary of his birth and depicts "Abraham Lincoln -- Our Friend and Liberator" by artist Wendy Allen. The second call box to be unveiled later on Sept. 10th near 15th & G Streets, is a scene by artist Ken Frye, "British Spare Rhodes Tavern." The two remaining call boxes (still seeking underwriting) will depict "Downtown Washington, 1801" with a scene of the President's House and "Inaugural Parades: Jefferson, 1805 - Regan, 1981" both by artist and AOI member Anne Martinez.
Please when you are visiting, dining or shopping along 15th or F Street , stop and admire these beautiful call box restorations and their original art.
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Joe Grano and artist Wendy Allen unveil the restored call box at 10th & F Street. President Lincoln (courtesy of Mde. Tussauds) appears undisturbed by the event.
AOI Supports the League of Women Voters on the 90th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment
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(L-R) AOI President Bill Brown is joined by members Barbara Bates, Sharon House, AOI Director John Richardson and AOI Historian Nelson Rimenysnyder in front of the White House on August 26, 2010, after marching with the League of Women Voters and others commemorating the 90th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution when women in the U.S. gained the right to vote.
The event provided an opportunity to remind everyone (and, in particular curious tourists and visitors) of the lack of voting representation for the citizens of the District of Columbia.
PRESS RELEASE
For Release: Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Contact: Bill Brown, AOI President, 202-342-1638, aoi_of_dc@verizon.net
COUNCILMEMBERS, STUDENTS JOIN OLDEST INHABITANTS TO DEDICATE PLAQUE
FOR GOV. SHEPHERD STATUE
The Association of the Oldest Inhabitants of the District of Columbia, the oldest civic group in the Nation’s Capital, along with five members of the DC City Council, students from the Shepherd Elementary School and others today dedicated a bronze plaque at the base of the statue of Governor Alexander Robey Shepherd, on the grounds of the John A. Wilson (District) Building at Pennsylvania Avenue at 14th Street, NW.
In high spirits despite the overcast and drizzle, the 25 attendees heard brief remarks by Councilmembers Jack Evans, Jim Graham, Phil Mendelson, Harry Thomas, Jr., and Muriel Bowser and applauded loudly as Nia Anderson and Javaan McKinney, two students from the Shepherd Elementary School (named for Shepherd) lifted a tarp and revealed the 20” x 36” bronze plaque mounted to a beveled granite stone at the base of the sculpture created by U.S. J. Dunbar and dedicated in 1909, which reads:
ALEXANDER ROBEY SHEPHERD
Governor, Territory of the District of Columbia (1873-1874)
Born Washington, D.C., January 31, 1835
Died Batopilas, Mexico, September 12, 1902
Buried Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
Civil War Union Veteran, Entrepreneur, Civic Leader
Advanced L’Enfant’s Plan through Public Works
Introduced Modern Silver Mining in Mexico
Statue Dedicated 1909, Removed 1979, Returned 2005
Plaque Placed by the Association of Oldest Inhabitants of the District of Columbia
The statue has had an eventful journey. It stood for 70 years in front of the District Building since 1909 until the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation did not include it when PADC built Freedom Plaza (first known as Western Plaza) as part of the renewal of Pennsylvania Avenue. As a result, Gov. Shepherd was unceremoniously removed and placed in ‘storage’ at the District Government’s public works yard on Shepherd Parkwayin far southwest. There it lay, on its side, until DC Government employees righted it and placed in front of their offices. After many years of effort, AOI working with Councilmembers Jack Evans and Jim Graham, Council Secretary Phyllis Jones, Transportation Director Dan Tangherlini and many other preservationists, on the crisp morning of January 29, 2005, the governor was returned to his rightful place on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the Wilson Building. And in January 2009, just in time for the inauguration of President Obama, lights were added so it could be enjoyed 24-hours-a day by visitors and residents alike.
Who was Gov. Shepherd? His most notable accomplishment during his four years as territorial governor in the 1870s, was as the force behind a multitude of public works projects, including sewers, roads, public buildings and trees. He became known as “the man who lifted Washington out of the mud,” and thereby stopping “the removal of the capital to some Western city which was warmly agitated at one time,” according to a September, 1902 New York Times article.
Through the efforts of Council Member Graham a coalition of construction trade groups donated their time and resources to relocate the statue. On January 29, 2005, employees of the Gilford Construction Company, Miller and Long Concrete Construction, United Rigging and Hauling and members of Associated Builders & Contractors carefully disassembled the statue, gently loaded it on a flatbed and with the fanfare of a presidential motorcade, transported it near its original location and skillfully re-erected it to the applause of those present.
Then in January 2009, -- just in time for the inauguration of President Obama -- the M.C. Dean Company through the generosity of its CEO Bill Dean provided lighting for the statue in order that it could be enjoyed 24 hours a day.
But with all of these accomplishments, something remained unfulfilled: a plaque explaining something about the life and accomplishments of the District’s 19th century Territorial Governor. Who was Shepherd? What was he known for? Why is he standing here, overlooking this end of the great Pennsylvania Avenue promenade? The AOI set out to fabricate a bronze plaque worthy of the Shepherd Statue and one that would, in a few brief words, tell the story of Shepherd’s life to District residents and visitors who pass by the statue every day… answering the question: “Who was Shepherd?”
With a great sense of appreciation to everyone who has helped make the return of the Shepherd Statue a reality and to R.S. Kinnaird Memorials of Thurmont, Maryland which fabricated and installed the plaque, residents and visitors will now know something about Governor Alexander Robey Shepherd.