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Temporary Commemorative Works in the District of Columbia
The District of Columbia, especially the area around the
issues permits for more than 4,000 total activities a year.
National Mall, is widely known for its monuments and
While many of these activities are not commemorative in
memorials. These permanent commemorative works, which
nature (e.g., first amendment activities, commercial film
are located on federal land, honor the military; arts, science,
and photography, concerts, sports events, festivals), others
and culture; American history, symbols, and government;
seek to temporarily place artwork or other commemorative
international figures and events; former Presidents; and
elements on NPS land. Interested applicants can submit
local history.
permits up to one year in advance. For more information on
the NPS permitting process, see https://www.nps.gov/nama/
Permanent commemorative works (governed by the
planyourvisit/permitsandreservations.htm.
Commemorative Works Act [CWA; 40 U.S.C. §§8901-
8909]) are not the only way that individuals, groups, and
Selected Examples of Past Temporary
events can be commemorated in Washington, DC. In the
Commemorative Works in the District
years since Congress created the CWA, there have been a
of Columbia
number of nonpermanent (temporary) commemorative
Since the enactment of the CWA in 1986, a number of
works displayed in Washington, DC, some of them on the
temporary memorials and commemorative works have been
National Mall. Temporary commemorative works
displayed in the District of Columbia, many on the National
potentially provide an opportunity to honor individuals,
Mall. CRS research indicates that each was likely approved
groups, and events that might not otherwise be approved for
through the NPS permitting process. Some selected
a permanent commemorative work.
examples on a range of subjects include the AIDS
Memorial Quilt (1987), the Desert Shield/Desert Storm
Authorizing Temporary
Victory Celebration (1991), Victims of COVID-19 (2021),
Commemorative Works
and presidential dogs (2022), as well as the planned Beyond
Temporary commemorative works in the District of
Granite commemorative work (2023).
Columbia can be authorized for display in two ways: a
CWA provision that authorizes the Secretary of the Interior
AIDS Memorial Quilt
(through the National Park Service [NPS]) to create a site to
On October 11, 1987, the AIDS Memorial Quilt made its
display a temporary commemorative work under certain
first appearance on the National Mall. Envisioned as a
circumstances; or the NPS special event permit process.
memorial to individuals who died in the AIDS epidemic,
the quilt contained nearly 2,000 panels when it was
CWA Temporary Commemorative Works
unveiled in Washington, DC, and covered more ground
The CWA (40 U.S.C. §8907) allows for the designation of
than a football field. Figure 1 shows the AIDS Memorial
“a site where commemorative works may be displayed on a
Quilt on the Ellipse in 1989, during a subsequent visit to
temporary basis” following a determination by the
Washington, DC.
Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the National
Capital Memorial Advisory Commission (NCMAC), that
Figure 1. AIDS Memorial Quilt
such a site “is necessary to aid in the preservation of the
limited amount of open space available to residents of, and
visitors to, the Nation’s Capital.” The Secretary must
submit a plan for the site to Congress at least 120 days
before the designation. The Department of the Interior
(S.Rept. 99-421, p. 10) stated that allowing a temporary site
designation “provides a non-structural alternative means of
recognizing persons and subjects important to the Nation
but which maybe more appropriately located permanently
at an area outside of the District of Columbia closely
Source: Smithsonian Institution Archives, “The AIDS Memorial Quilt
associated with the person or event.”
on the National Mal ,” December 17, 2020, at https://siarchives.si.edu/
blog/aids-memorial-quilt-national-mal .
NPS Permit Process
Most temporary commemorative works on federal land in
Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm Victory
the District of Columbia are displayed on NPS property. As
Celebration
such, the work’s organizer may obtain a permit to display
In June 1991, a National Victory Celebration was held in
the work under NPS regulations authorizing demonstrations
Washington, DC, to honor the Armed Forces that
and special events (36 C.F.R. §7.96). Within the National
participated in Operation Desert Shield and Operation
Mall and Memorials Parks Division, NPS reports that it
Desert Storm. The National Victory Celebration included a
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Temporary Commemorative Works in the District of Columbia
parade on Pennsylvania Avenue and a display of military
President John F. Kennedy’s dog, Pushinka; and President
vehicles, helicopters, and fighter jets on the National Mall.
Barack Obama’s dog, Bo. Figure 4 shows the three statues
Figure 2 shows an AV-88 Harrier II aircraft on the
in front of the Lincoln Memorial, with the Reflecting Pool
National Mall during the National Victory Celebration.
and the Washington Monument in the background.
Figure 2. AV-88 Harrier II During the National
Figure 4. Presidential Dogs
Victory Celebration on the National Mall
Source: Photo taken by the author.
Notes: L to R: Fido (Lincoln), Bo (Obama), and Pushinka (Kennedy).
Beyond Granite
Source: National Archives and Records Administration, National
The Trust for the National Mall, in partnership with the
Archives Catalog, at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/6462939.
National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), NPS, and
the Mellon Trust, are creating Beyond Granite, described as
“In America: Remember” (Victims of COVID-19)
an opportunity to “invite visionary artists to create special
In September 2021, nearly 700,000 white flags, many with
commemorative exhibits, performances, and installations
handwritten dedications, were placed on the National Mall,
on the National Mall to bring new voices and fresh
one for each American estimated to have lost their life to
perspectives to the commemorative landscape” and to
COVID-19. Artist and creator Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg
“commemorate history, experiences, and stories not
noted that the temporary memorial was designed to capture
currently represented in the commemorative landscape in
“the human dignity of each one of these people who have
the Nation’s Capital.” In December 2022, the Beyond
been compressed and ... reduced to numbers.” Figure 3
Granite team announced six artists who will create
shows the “In America: Remember” temporary memorial to
“monumental scale artworks” around the National Mall in
the victims of COVID-19.
August 2023. For more information, see
https://www.beyondgranite.org.
Figure 3. “In America Remember” (Victims of
COVID-19)
Congressional Interest and
Consideration
Historically, Congress has not been directly involved in
temporary commemorations in the District of Columbia,
instead delegating the authority to the Department of the
Interior and the NPS through the CWA authority and the
NPS special event regulations. In the future, Congress could
begin to authorize temporary commemorative works in a
way similar to its authorization of permanent memorials
under the CWA. Congress could also amend the CWA to
further define the role of the Department of the Interior and
the NPS, or it could choose to continue the status quo and
allow the Secretary and the NPS to permit temporary
Source: Lila Thulin, “In D.C., 695,000 Flags—and Counting—
commemorations on a case-by-case basis.
Memorialize the Americans Who Have Died of Covid-19,”
Smithsonian Magazine, September 30, 2021, at
For more information on the Commemorative Works Act,
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/almost-700000-
see CRS Report R41658, Commemorative Works in the
flagsand-countingon-dcs-national-mal -memorialize-the-americans-
District of Columbia: Background and Practice; and CRS
who-have-died-from-covid-19-180978790.
In Focus IF11833, Commemorative Works in the District of
Columbia: Categorization of Proposed and Enacted
Presidential Dogs
Memorials, 1973-2020.
Over President’s Day 2022, a dog food company displayed
an exhibit of presidential dogs in front of the Lincoln
Jacob R. Straus, Specialist on the Congress
Memorial. The temporary commemorative work featured
IF12416
statues of President Abraham Lincoln’s dog, Fido;
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Temporary Commemorative Works in the District of Columbia
Disclaimer
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