WASHINGTON - This graceful capital city envisioned more than two centuries ago by Pierre L'Enfant is being dramatically altered in the grim era of Osama bin Laden.
A "National Capital Urban Design and Security Plan" is expected to bring permanent, less obtrusive barriers to replace the "ugly and makeshift security" measures that have been hurriedly erected. The National Capital Planning Commission will vote on the $800 million renovation project, whose funding would have to be approved by Congress.
But this plan is only one of many changes coming to the nation's capital - not all inspired by security concerns:
In front of the White House, Pennsylvania Avenue will be a pink granite promenade guarded by retractable steel posts that will allow inaugural parades to pass every four years.
A gleaming World War II Memorial will surround the Rainbow Pool on the National Mall between the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument.
After careful screening in underground visitor centers, tourists will be entering the Capitol, and perhaps the Washington Monument, through tunnels.
The National Capital Planning Commission oversees proposed changes to the city of broad avenues, monumental buildings and scenic open spaces that was designed by L'Enfant, a French architect selected by George Washington.
The commission appointed an interagency security task force to come up with a plan to protect the buildings, monuments and citizenry while also preserving the historic sights and symbols. The task force's plan is expected to be approved Thursday by the commission.
`Necessary feature'
"Security measures have become an unfortunate but now necessary feature of urban life, as in our capital city," said Richard L. Friedman, chairman of the task force. "Good security and good urban design are not incompatible, however, and we must find ways to move beyond the unsightly barriers and make Washington a city that truly reflects the beauty, values, and spirit of America."
The task force proposes, for example, that the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials be encircled by low concrete walls with a veneer of stone that matches the monuments.
However, several major renovations had begun even before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
In the 1970s, discussion began on an underground visitor center to be located near the Capitol beneath parkland designed by Fredrick Law Olmsted, the pioneer landscape architect.
