After a successful pilot program, it’s 1,000 square feet down, and 9,682 to go.
Visitor access won’t be affected.
The steps to the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, along with all National Park facilities (including restrooms), remain closed for now.
One of the at least 24 couples whose National Mall wedding was put on hold because of the government shutdown found a new venue last night: The Colbert Report.
The controversy surrounding the Eisenhower Memorial isn’t new. In fact, many of Washington’s most famous monuments and memorials have provoked criticism and complaints.
Eleanor Holmes Norton, in her time as D.C. Delegate, has always been one of the National Mall’s most strident supporters. So it’s hardly surprising that Norton wants to use the recent dancing demonstrations at the Jefferson Memorial as a leaping point to promote public use of the grounds.
Oh, so you thought that the arrest of several people who were dancing inside the Jefferson Memorial on Saturday afternoon would be the end of the whole brouhaha? Think again: the same group of people who put together the original demonstration are planning an even bigger display of civil disobedience this weekend — and over 1,800 people say they’ll attend.
According to several reports across the internet, five protesters were arrested by U.S. Park Police at around 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon in the Jefferson Memorial for dancing in silence. Touted as “civil danceobedience,” the dancers were there protesting a recent court decision earlier this month that upheld a ban on dancing within the memorial. Among those arrested were Adam Kokesh, the man forcefully arrested in the video, and Edward Dickey, the event organizer.
In 2008 a small flash mob had gathered at the memorial to dance in silence, but was dispersed when one woman was arrested on misdemeanor charges. A year later, stemming from that case,a judge affirmed a ban on dancing at the memorial, “in order to maintain an atmosphere of calm, tranquility, and reverence.”
In 2008, D.C. resident Brooke Oberwetter was arrested and held for several hours by Park Police for dancing inside the Jefferson Memorial with a group of about 20 nerdy libertarian wonk types who had convened for a silent midnight flash mob. The internet was not pleased. But today, a federal appellate panel ruled that the Park Police were justified in hauling Oberwetter off that evening.
An eagle-eyed DCist reader sent us the link to the website of Meridian Luxury Apartments. Notice anything interesting about the photo on the front page?
