Letter
Dear Mr. Carlstrom:
During its meeting of 16 October, the Commission reviewed a concept proposal by David Mintz of the Mintz Lighting Group, for the rehabilitation of the lighting at the Lincoln Memorial. Since the success of the relighting of the Jefferson Memorial, the members have been supportive of the National Park Service's desire to update and improve the lighting of the memorials and museums on the Mall. The current system used at the Lincoln Memorial is clearly in need of an overhaul, as it produces a varied and poorly-colored light that is unevenly distributed. The Commission thought Mr. Mintz's proposed scheme would be a welcome improvement. His goal to light the memorial's steps for the first time and to improve the interior lighting was met with enthusiasm. The only caveat to the proposal was a desire to maintain visually the three dimensionality of the exterior columns. This can be accomplished by carefully balancing the illumination on the face of the columns with that
of the back wall so that they are fully modeled and not rendered flat.
The Commission looks forward to further review of this project. The next step in developing the new lighting scheme would be a mockup, just as was done at the Jefferson Memorial, to fully evaluate the effect of the new lights. We would appreciate the opportunity to conduct a site inspection when a mockup can be provided. Please coordinate with the staff and, as always, they are available should you or the design team require guidance.
Sincerely,
/s/
Donald A. Capoccia
Vice Chairman
Mr. Terry R. Carlstrom
Regional Director
National Capital Region
National Park Service
1100 Ohio Drive, SW
Washington, DC 20242
cc: John G. Parsons, NPS
David Mintz, The Mintz Lighting Group