Greater Greater Washington has an interesting summary of changes to the US National Mall in Washington DC. They summarize the National Coalition to Save Our Mall PDF file which suggest implementing ideas from the 1901 McMillan Commission. Interesting ideas that I’m sure will cost a fortune.
As a result, the Mall always seems incomplete and haphazard. As the report points out, shady, tree-lined paths west of suddenly turn into a sun-baked expanse around the Washington Monument. Memorials large and small lack overall coherence. There are few food and restroom amenities for visitors, little to appeal to children, and poor transportation. And, they say, the National Park Service’s Mall plan is more of a “grounds keeping and maintenance plan” and the patchwork of federal agencies’ overlapping plans “embrace the status quo.”