This clear shot of the Capitol might become off-limits to film crews. Photo by owash
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton said in a press release today that she’ll be meeting with officials from the National Park Service and Architect of the Capitol to “seek clarification” on the recent transfer of oversight over Union Square from the former to the latter.
Norton, the release stated, is wants to assess the potential for “another round of walling-off public space” that might come with the change in jurisdiction from from the NPS to the heavy-security nature of the U.S. Capitol.
“We fought overreaction after 9/11, with jurisdiction shifts and street closings, and the public is in no mood for a retread of those fights for access to tax-supported public space,” Norton said in the release.
But there are no certainties yet, Norton’s spokesman Abe Rakov told DCist. While there are no firm concerns over new barriers to pedestrian or vehicular access that might come with increased security, Norton will be seeking answers from the NPS and the Architect of the Capitol and taking into consideration the concerns of various stakeholders in the future of Union Square.
One of those stakeholders is the D.C. Office of Motion Picture and Television Development. As the City Paper’s Lydia DePillis noted on Tuesday, the park on the eastern side of the Capitol is a favored vantage point for film and television crews shooting in the District. While the Capitol itself bars all non-news camera crews, Union Square—specifically the Grant Memorial—offers unobstructed sight-lines towards the dome.
Crystal Palmer, who runs the film office, told DCist yesterday that “it would certainly affect our ability to service the [film] industry” if movie shoots were no longer permitted in Union Square.
Rakov said a sit-down with the District film office is one of the meetings Norton’s office is going to schedule, but was quick to say that information about the future of Union Square is still very tenuous right now.
“We’re in an information gathering stage,” he said.
