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Tunnel to monument on Mall earns nodBy Associated Press,© St. Petersburg Times published May 4, 2003 WASHINGTON - Reaching the soaring monument to George Washington's vision may one day require a subterranean passage designed to thwart terror. The National Capital Planning Commission granted preliminary approval Thursday to a plan to expand a visitors lodge east of the Washington Monument, which would include an entrance to a tunnel that earned conceptual approval last year. The tunnel would become the only access to the monument, a design planners say is in keeping with Washington's new security needs. More than a dozen engineers, tour guides and citizens showed up at the meeting to oppose the project - especially the tunnel. "Would you rather enter the monument 500 feet away, through a tunnel as long as the monument is high?" asked Dr. Judy Feldman, with the National Coalition to Save Our Mall. "Or would you prefer walking up the monument and entering through the front door, as people have for decades?" The tunnel and the new lodge would not be in place until after 2005. The plans still need final approval from the commission. The monument is over 555 feet high; the 896 step climb to its summit offers stunning views of the capital from all directions. The monument has been open to the public since 1888. The monument has been closed for reconstruction, most recently for three years, reopening just months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Planners for the park service proposed the tunnel in 1998, after the attacks on two U.S. embassies in Africa; the Sept. 11 attacks reinforced their conviction. The addition will more than double the existing lodge's size. The neoclassical design features marble columns and a glass roof. It was chosen over a larger, more contemporary glass and steel structure. The National Park Service says the project is consistent with security at other capital landmarks.  © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
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