National Women's History Museum Taking Steps Toward Mall Site

If another year is approaching, it must be time for considering another museum on the Mall.  Considering that a museum dedicated to African Americans is currently rising on the Mall's front yard, Martin Luther King got one, Eisenhower's is on the way, and Latinos are vying for one as well, why not a women’s history museum?  There is a coalition of folks who’ve been agitating for just that since 1996.  Having built a comprehensive website and an administrative office in Alexandria, little by little, they’re making some headway in moving to DC’s federal heart.

In mid-September, legislation to establish a commission that would identify a site for a National Women's History Museum was introduced in Congress, sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). It’s a relatively small step, but a crucial one if the museum is to be directly on the Mall, the organization’s goal.

“We previously had legislation that did identify a site, but it then came on our radar that there’s another site on the National Mall,” explained Joan Wages, the museum’s president and CEO. “To consider that site, we need Congress to form a commission to study this.” Of course, she admits, “getting something through Congress is a major hurdle. But we’re working with Maloney and Collins’ staff now to see if there’s any way we could get something through the lame duck session or during the first part of next year.”

Wages declined to describe the plot she and the museum’s board have identified, though she did say it’s located on the south side of the Mall. According to Carol Johnson, a spokeswoman for the National Parks Service, the Mall is currently considered "a finished work of art"--publicity about the African American museum touts it as getting the last available spot on the Mall--but that can be overriden by Congress.

The originally-proposed site was at 12th and Independence Avenue, across from the Freer Gallery, but was less than ideal: the spot has a road running directly through it, requiring a building to arch over the roadway and mandating a number of tricky permits.

Eventual plans are fairly ambitious. The concept, said Wages, would be “a world class museum—I think we’d be looking at 200,000 square feet and up.” As for content, she laughed. “There’s hundreds of years of women’s history. I think there’ll be plenty to put in there.” 

But a permanent structure is clearly quite a ways off. For now, the group is gathering support; the organization already has over 50,000 charter members, according to Wages, and almost 50 national organizations representing more than 8 million people have signed on.

Supporters are also closely watching other museums’ strategies; after all, the African American museum also started out as a grassroots movement that took decades to reach fruition.

In the meantime, museum staff are building out the website, which is currently running 22 virtual exhibits about women’s history, such as “First but not the Last: Women who Ran for President.” There’s no shortage of topics, said Wages, adding, “Women’s history is virtually left out of history textbooks today.”

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Museums on the Mall: Latinos Throw Their Hat in the Ring

Feeling ethnically unrepresented by the nation's newfound homage to ethnicity? One group may have the answer for you: The Latino American Museum Commission (LAMC) hopes to build the National Museum of the American Latino on or near the National Mall, and is in the final stage of figuring out just where it should go.

The new museum is intended to "create a home for the historical artifacts, images, and personal stories documenting over 500 years of American Latino contributions to the United States" and will "serve as an educational tool for the thousands who visit the museum each year, as well as instilling [sic] a sense of pride in the Latino community..." The LAMC was formed by an act of Congress in 2008.

The Museum Commission initially considered and "fully vetted" over 30 sites throughout the Capitol area, narrowing it down to 9 in November 2009, before finally paring it down to 4 sites, all on or near the Mall, as it happens. At yesterday's National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) meeting, the LAMC presented the four finalists. Henry R. Muñoz, the Chair of the LAMC, told the NCPC review team that after canvassing Latinos nationwide "there is a clear preference for a site on the Mall." The NCPC expects to issue its opinion in August, at which point the plans will be sent to Congress. The Commission hopes to find 359,000 s.f. - 310,000 s.f. close to the monumental core for exhibits and 49,000 s.f. located remotely for storage and office space. Though the LAMC recently signed four contracts to kickstart development and planning, Muñoz acknowledged the long process ahead, saying "we'll feel fortunate if that timeline can be shortened to ten years."

In no particular order, the Commission is considering:

1. The Yates Building at 1400 Independence Avenue, SW (pictured right): The administrative portion would fit into the historic Yates building, and a 165,000-s.f. building would be built on the Mall to the north, bisected by Independence Avenue. The museum would offer an entrance on the Mall and would potentially connect underground to the Yates building. The rough designs show the new structure mirroring the height and footprint of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

2. The Whitten Building at 14th & Independence: The LAMC offered up the adjacent parking lot for a new building. This plan also includes building two stories on top of the Whitten building, which the design team likened to the Tate in London. This design would deliver 310,000 s.f., 49,000 s.f. less than the desired amount of space.

3. The Arts and Industries Building (pictured left): The oldest of the Smithsonian buildings offers 99,000 s.f. that would be incorporated as a "public reception area" because it is too narrow for galleries and lacks climate control or proper acoustics for performances. This plan has two options, one in which the Arts and Industries building remains intact with a two-story museum below-grade, the other would use the main building for administrative purposes and as an entrance from the mall, but create a connection to a new annex building.

4. Capitol Site: This proposed site, across from the Botanical Gardens, was envisioned by the McMillan Commission to hold a museum but remains empty. Currently under the control of the Architect of the Capitol, the site would utilize the same footprint as proposed in the McMillan Plan, with an entrance off Pennsylvania Avenue, offering three stories above grade and one below. At 252,000 s.f. it would be the smallest of the proposed buildings.

Fear not, Lithuanians and Somoans, you too may someday have your chance.

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