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Updated January 8, 2024
Temporary Commemorations on Federal Land in the District of
Columbia
The District of Columbia, especially the area around the
the display under NPS regulations (36 C.F.R. §7.96).
National Mall, is widely known for its monuments and
Within the National Mall and Memorials Parks Division,
memorials. These permanent commemorative works, which
NPS reports that it issues permits for more than 4,000 total
are located on federal land, honor the military; arts, science,
activities a year. While many of these activities are not
and culture; American history, symbols, and government;
commemorative in nature (e.g., first amendment activities,
international figures and events; former Presidents; and
commercial film and photography, concerts, sports events,
local history.
festivals), others seek to temporarily place artwork or other
objects with commemorative themes on NPS land.
Permanent commemorative works (governed by the
Interested applicants can submit permits up to one year in
Commemorative Works Act [CWA; 40 U.S.C. §§8901-
advance. For more information on the NPS permitting
8909]) are not the only way that individuals, groups, and
process, see https://www.nps.gov/nama/planyourvisit/
events can be celebrated or commemorated in Washington,
permitsandreservations.htm.
DC. In the years since Congress created the CWA, there
have been several nonpermanent (temporary) displays,
Selected Examples of Past Temporary
some with commemorative themes, in Washington, DC,
Artwork or Objects with
some of them on the National Mall. Temporary displays
Commemorative Themes
potentially provide an opportunity to honor individuals,
Since the enactment of the CWA in 1986, several
groups, and events that might not otherwise be approved for
temporary displays of artwork or objects with
a permanent commemorative work.
commemorative themes have been located in the District of
Columbia, many on the National Mall. CRS research
Authorizing Temporary Displays
indicates that each was likely approved through the NPS
Temporary displays can potentially be allowed on federal
permitting process. Some selected examples, on a range of
land in the District of Columbia through a CWA provision
subjects, include the AIDS Memorial Quilt (1987), the
that authorizes the Secretary of the Interior (through the
Desert Shield/Desert Storm Victory Celebration (1991),
National Park Service [NPS]) to create a site to display a
Victims of COVID-19 (2021), and presidential dogs (2022),
commemorative work on a temporary basis under certain
as well as the Beyond Granite artwork installation (2023).
circumstances. The NPS event permit process may also
authorize a temporary display.
AIDS Memorial Quilt
On October 11, 1987, the AIDS Memorial Quilt made its
CWA Temporary Site Designation
first appearance on the National Mall. Envisioned as a
The CWA (40 U.S.C. §8907) allows for the designation of
memorial to individuals who died in the AIDS epidemic,
“a site where commemorative works may be displayed on a
the quilt contained nearly 2,000 panels when it was
temporary basis,” outside the Reserve, following a
unveiled in Washington, DC, and covered more ground
determination by the Secretary of the Interior, in
than a football field. Figure 1 shows the AIDS Memorial
consultation with the National Capital Memorial Advisory
Quilt on the Ellipse in 1989, during a subsequent visit to
Commission (NCMAC), that such a site “is necessary to aid
Washington, DC.
in the preservation of the limited amount of open space
available to residents of, and visitors to, the Nation’s
Figure 1. AIDS Memorial Quilt
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 associated with the person or
event.”
Source: Smithsonian Institution Archives, “The AIDS Memorial Quilt
NPS Permit Process
on the National Mal ,” December 17, 2020, at https://siarchives.si.edu/
Temporary displays on federal land in the District of
blog/aids-memorial-quilt-national-mal .
Columbia are commonly located on NPS property and do
not constitute a commemorative work under the CWA. As
such, the work’s organizer may obtain a permit to authorize
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Temporary Commemorations on Federal Land in the District of Columbia
Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm Victory
Presidential Dogs
Celebration
Over President’s Day 2022, a dog food company placed
In June 1991, a National Victory Celebration was held in
statues of presidential dogs in front of the Lincoln
Washington, DC, to honor the Armed Forces that
Memorial. The display featured statues of President
participated in Operation Desert Shield and Operation
Abraham Lincoln’s dog, Fido; President John F. Kennedy’s
Desert Storm. The National Victory Celebration included a
dog, Pushinka; and President Barack Obama’s dog, Bo.
parade on Pennsylvania Avenue and a display of military
Figure 4 shows the three statues in front of the Lincoln
vehicles, helicopters, and fighter jets on the National Mall.
Memorial, with the Reflecting Pool and the Washington
Figure 2 shows an AV-88 Harrier II aircraft on the
Monument in the background.
National Mall during the National Victory Celebration.
Figure 4. Presidential Dogs
Figure 2. AV-88 Harrier II During the National
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
The Trust for the National Mall, in partnership with the
Source: National Archives and Records Administration, National
National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), NPS, and
Archives Catalog, at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/6462939.
the Mellon Trust, created Beyond Granite, to “present a
dynamic new series of installations designed to create a
“In America: Remember” (Victims of COVID-19)
more inclusive, equitable, and representative
In September 2021, nearly 700,000 white flags, many with
commemorative landscape on the National Mall.” In
handwritten dedications, were placed on the National Mall,
August and September 2023, Beyond Granite: Pulling
one for each American estimated to have lost their life to
Together facilitated the instillation of six contemporary
COVID-19. Artist and creator Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg
works of art focused on the theme “What stories remain
noted that the temporary memorial was designed to capture
untold on the National Mall?” For more information, see
“the human dignity of each one of these people who have
https://www.beyondgranite.org.
been compressed and ... reduced to numbers.” Figure 3
shows the “In America: Remember” temporary memorial to
Congressional Interest and
the victims of COVID-19.
Consideration
Historically, Congress has not been directly involved in the
Figure 3. “In America Remember” (Victims of
temporary display of artwork or other objects with a
COVID-19)
commemorative purpose in the District of Columbia.
Temporary displays of artwork or other objects with a
commemorative purpose have been placed under NPS
permitting authority. In the future, Congress could
authorize temporary displays 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 process for
approving temporary displays.
For more information on the CWA, see CRS Report
R41658, Commemorative Works in the District of
Source: Lila Thulin, “In D.C., 695,000 Flags—and Counting—
Columbia: Background and Practice.
Memorialize the Americans Who Have Died of Covid-19,”
Smithsonian Magazine, September 30, 2021, at
Jacob R. Straus, Specialist on the Congress
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/almost-700000-
flagsand-countingon-dcs-national-mal -memorialize-the-americans-
IF12416
who-have-died-from-covid-19-180978790.
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Temporary Commemorations on Federal Land in the District of Columbia
Disclaimer
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