A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR
SOLVING TODAY'S PROBLEMS
AND
MEETING TOMORROW'S CHALLENGES
The White House and President's Park are being affected by uses and demands that were never anticipated by our forebearers. To address current problems and concerns, and to take advantage of opportunities for the future, a comprehensive design plan is being prepared by the National Park Service in cooperation with 11 other agencies that have stewardship responsibilities within President's Park.
WHAT ARE THE CONCERNS?
Numerous concerns have been identified at President's Park. Among them are the following:
Automobiles are everywhere.
E Street and Pennsylvania Avenue bisect the area, creating hazards for pedestrians and infringing on the site's integrity.
Presidential secrity is a sonstant concern.
Visitor facilities and educational programs are inadequate.
The support facilities needed to operate a modern-day presidency are lacking.
The north grounds do no adequately support current media operations without impact on the historic landscape.
The Ellipse grounds never have time to recover between special events.
President's Park is not clearly distinguished from its surroundings, diminishing its significance.
A long-range plan has never been don to deal with these concerns, and it is time to act.
WHAT WILL THE PLAN DO?
A comprehensive design plan for the White House will analyze these concerns and propose solutions to be implemented in stages over the next 20 years. Over the long run the plan will offset its costs by preventing short-term solutions that do not fully address needs at the site.
WHAT ARE THE PLANNING GOALS?
Three primary goals have been defined for a plan. The plan needs to balance all three:
the demands of today's presidency
public demands for access to one of the symbols of our democracy
the preservation of the cultural and natural resources of the White House and the surrounding landscape
WHAT ARE WE DOING NOW?
The wide-ranging concerns facing the site today were identified through a series of 26 workshops between April and October 1993. Over 70 agencies and organizations were invited to attend. To solicit comments from the public, a tent on the Elolipse was set up for four days in the spirng of 1993. This provided an open forum for international, national, and local visitors to contribute their ideas.
The planning team has developed three conceptiual approaches to address cons\cerns now and in the future. Those concepts are described in this news letter, and they are organized around four topics:
Home and Office of the President
Resource Protection and Site Character
Visitor Use
Access and Transportation
In addition, several actions are proposed regardless of which conceptual approach is selected. Referred to as actions common to all, these proposals are described on the next page.
This newsletter is your opportunity to learn about and comment on the three concepts being considered. Once the public review has been completed, a draft plan and a draft environmental impact statement will be prepared. These documents are scheduled for public review in the fall of 1995.
As a symbol of our free and democratic nation, President's Park deserves to have its dignity, respect, and functinal capabilities restored and renewed for the future.
ACTIONS COMMON TO ALL CONCEPTS
HOME AND OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
Multiple security screening facilities will be available.
There will be multiple entry points to the site for guest at official functions as well as business visitors.
>Delivery facilities, meeting space, reception areas, and staff and business circulation corridors will be provided for the Executive Office and support functions.
News media facilities and building utilities will be upgraded.
Indoor recreation and storage space will be provided for the Executive Residence.
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND SITE CHARACTER
President's Park will continue to be an open area that is visually linked to the National Mall; the traditional vistas to and from the north and south will be maintained.
The important elements of past significant landscape designs will be respected.
All memorials established by legislation will be retained no new memorials will be encouraged.
Archeological resources will become a part of resource management concerns.
Design guidelines will be adopted to ensure that future facility designs are compatible with the overall site character.
All programs and facilities will be s\designed and managed in an environmentally sound manner.
VISITOR USE AND SERVICES
A White House visitor center will be provided to facilitate and complement the White House tour
Free public tour tickets will be available year-round. 25% of the tickets will be available nationwide in advance.
First Amendment activities in areas now protected by law.
All special events and their infrastructure will be in keeping with the dignity and significance of the site.
ACCESS AND TRANSPORTATION
Vehicle parking will be removed from the Ellipse roadways and the curb lanes surrounding President's Park -- 15th Street, 17th Street, Constitution Avenue, and H Street.
State, Hamilton, Jackson and Madison Places will be closed to vehicular traffic and redesigned for pedestrian use.
E Street vehicular traffic patterns will be modified.
West Executive Avenue will remain closed to the public, but it will be redesigned to resemble East Executive Avenue
No public visitor parking will be available in President's Park.
THE NEXT STEPS
April 28, 1995: Deadline for the questionnaire on the conceptual approaches to be mailed back to the National Park Service planning team.
Fall 1995: Distribution of the draft plan and environmental impact statement for public review. At this stage a concept will be identifif\ed as the preferred action, which may be a combination of elements from the various conceptual approaches.
Spring 1996: Scheduled completion of the final plan and environmental impact statement.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
If you want to receive future information about the comprehensive design plan for the White House and President's Park, please contact the planning team:
National Park Service
Comprehensive Design Plan for the White House
1100 Ohio Drive SW
Washington, D.C. 20242
(202) 619-6344 FAX (202) 619-6353
WHY IS THE WHITE HOUSE A UNIT OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM?
President's Park -- the area encompassing the White House, its grounds, the Ellipise, and Lafayette Park -- is integral to Pierre Charles L'Enfant's 1791 design for the nation's capital. The White House has been the residence and Office of every U.S. president and his family since John Adams moved in on November 1, 1800. Its endurance for 200 years reflects the stability of our free and democratic nation. In 1961 Congress asked the National Park Service to administer the White House and its grounds as a unit of the national park system.
In addition to being historically significant, President's Park possesses valuable open space in the center of a densely urban environment -- space that is available for use by the president and the first family, as well as the public.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The following agencies form the executive committee which is helping guide the development of the comprehensive design plan for the White House and President's Park.
Executive Office of the President
Executive Residence at the White House
White House Military Office
U.S. Department of the Treasury
U.S. Secret Service
General Services Administration
National Park Service
District of Columbia
commission of Fine Arts
National Capital Planning Commission
Advisory Council of Historeic Preservation
Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation
CONCEPT 1
The focus of concept 1 is to make the site work well for the presidency and to interpret that focus to the public. This concept would respect traditional use patterns and site relationships. Operations would be improved, simplified, and retained onsite whenever possible. Activities allowed at the site would be directly related to the presidency, and visitors would have opportunities for in-depth educational experiences related to the presidency.
HOME AND OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
1. West side - belowground delivery, staging, and staff parking; State Place closed.
2 East side - belowground delivery, staging and staff parking, Hamiliton Place closed.
3. Meeting space - belowground
4. New media facility - belowground
RESOURCE AND PROTECTION AND SITE CHARACTER
5. Ellipse - pedestrian walk and formal gardens in side pannels
6. East Executive Avenue continue as a pedestrian street.
VISITOR USE
7. White House visitor center - belowground, with a belowground connection to the visitor entrance building. Visitors enter through the East Wing of the White House.
ACCESS AND TRANSPORTATION
8. E street - opened to two-way traffic across the site, with timed closures during the day.
9. Jackson Place - pedestrian underpass
10. Pennsylvania Avenue - open
11. belowground parking for staff and maintence.
CONCEPT 2
The focus of concept 2 is to meet the needs of the various people who use the site, with convenient access to the White House, the resources of PResident's Park, and transportation services. Areas adjacent to President's Park and the White House would be used to accommodate the needs of the presidency and visitors without compromising the site's resources.
HOME AND OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
1. West side - belowground delivery, staging, and staff parking; State Place closed.
2 East side - belowground delivery, staging and staff parking, Hamiliton Place closed.
3. Meeting space - belowground
4. New media facility - upgraded in existing space
RESOURCE AND PROTECTION AND SITE CHARACTER
5. Ellipse - pedestrian walk and formal gardens in side pannels
6. East Executive Avenue continue as a pedestrian street.
7. Events plaza - permanent infrastructure
VISITOR USE
8. White House visitor center - in the Treasury Annex or Main Treasury Building, with a belowground connection to the visitor entrance building. Visitors enter through the North Portico or East Wing of the White House.
ACCESS AND TRANSPORTATION
9. Visitor gateway (TO LAFAYETTE PARK) -- clearly articulated entrance to the site.
10. E Street - tunneled and redesigned for pedestrian use.
11. Pennsylvania Avenue -- tunneled or closed and redesigned for pedestrian use. (JACKSON AND MADISON PLACES CLOSED)
NOTE: Staff parking accommodated at offsite locations.
CONCEPT 3
The focus of concept 3 is on preserving the site's historical significance and its relationship to the presidency. Wherever feasible, operations and support facilities would be reduced in scale, decentralized, and dispersed offsite. Only those operations that strengthen the integrity and purpose of President's Park and the White House would remain. Minimal infrastructure would reduce impacts on the character of the site, although it would continue to meet the needs of the presidency and visitors.
HOME AND OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
1. Meeting space -- Old Executive Office Building north courtyard.
2. New media facility -- Old Executive Office Building north courtyard.
NOTE: West side - delivery, staging, and staff parking; accommodated at office locations, State Place closed.
East side - delivery, staging and staff parking; accommodated at office locations, Hamiliton Place closed.
RESOURCE AND PROTECTION AND SITE CHARACTER
3. Ellipse - pedestrian walk and informal gardens in side pannels
4. East Executive Avenue continue as a pedestrian street.
VISITOR USE
8. White House visitor center - in Baldrige Hall, with a belowground connection to the visitor entrance building. Visitors enter through the East Wing of the White House.
ACCESS AND TRANSPORTATION
9. Visitor gateway (TO LAFAYETTE PARK) -- clearly articulated entrance to the site.
10. E Street - closed and redesigned for pedestrian use.
11. Pennsylvania Avenue -- open.
NOTE: Staff parking accommodated at offsite locations.