A Memorial To A Once-Lively Street

Nine years after it was closed to traffic, Pennsylvania Avenue emerges from the shadow of the White House.

1 minute read

November 11, 2004, 10:00 AM PST

By Deborah Myerson


The temporary concrete barriers that have adorned the stretch of asphalt in front of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for the past decade have finally come down – replaced by permanent concrete bollards. Not all is lost: by spring, the new pedestrian promenade should have 88 elm trees and two neoclassical guard houses flanking its entrances. Yet, as Benjamin Forgey observes in his review of the design, it has "resurrected a ghostly image of a once-vital street."

Thanks to Deborah Myerson

Wednesday, November 10, 2004 in The Washington Post

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