Is the National Mall Getting Too Crowded?

Outside the Beltway's James Joyner made an excellent point last week about the increasing number of monuments on the National Mall.

Joyner quotes Radley Balko, who stated, "The National Mall, originally envisioned by Washington, D.C.’s planner and architect Pierre L’Enfant (that’s right, the man who built our nation’s capital was French!) as a serene place for public celebration and quiet contemplation, is quickly turning into a kind of kitchy amusement park for aggrieved parties and special interests."

I would agree. Just last weekend, a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial took place. A good case can be made for a MLK Jr. Memorial on the National Mall, but it could lead to lesser figures getting memorials. It's not too far fetched that down the road that conservatives will demand a Reagan monument, even though he doesn't deserve one. Reagan already has an airport named after him.

The bar has to remain high or the National Mall will turn into an outdoor version of Westminster Abbey, crowded with monuments and statues.