Letter
Dear Mr. Vogel:
In its meeting of 15 February, the Commission of Fine Arts reviewed a concept design for accessibility improvements to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial along the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park. The Commission approved the project team’s preferred option and provided the following comments for its development.
The Commission members expressed strong support for the goal of increasing accessibility to this prominent national memorial designed by John Russell Pope, and they recommended minimizing the appearance of the proposed changes to the memorial’s base. Accordingly, they recommended adjusting the grade of the lawn adjacent to the proposed entrance walkways in order to eliminate the need for guardrails along them. Acknowledging the preference for handrails despite the walkways’ shallow slope, they suggested studying the potential of supporting any handrails on masonry walls, and finishing them in a neutral color to make them less visually obtrusive.
The Commission looks forward to further review of this project. As always, the staff is available to assist you with the next submission.
Sincerely,
/s/Thomas E. Luebke, FAIA
Secretary
Robert Vogel, Regional Director
National Park Service, National Capital Region
1100 Ohio Drive, SW
Washington, DC 20242
cc: Doug Mettler, VHB