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The
only thing uglier than some of the modern structures
clustered around the Capitol in Richmond
is the decision-making process that led to their
approval.
As
with most ugly practices, the decision-making about
what will be demolished and what will take its place
at the seat of government is carried out, for the
most part, in secrecy--or at least beyond the view
of average citizens and taxpayers.
It’s time to let a little sunshine in.
The
Capitol itself is a genuine treasure.
Designed by Thomas Jefferson, it lacks the
massive scale of many other state capitols, which
tend to overpower the individual citizen.
A visitor enters the Capitol of Virginia with
respect and a healthy sense of continuity with the
past, but not with overwhelming awe or a feeling of
cold detachment from the business conducted there.
As much as any governmental building can be,
it is warm and personal.
Unfortunately,
the environment surrounding the Capitol creates
quite a different impression.
It is increasing cold and architecturally
uninviting. This
is not a recent development:
Poor taste and poor judgment have been
chipping away at the distinctiveness of Capitol
Square
for decades.
Our
elected servants and their appointees in Richmond
have generated many frightful plans, some of which
are on display today as completed structures, such
as the truly hideous Monroe Building, the somewhat
less hideous Madison Building, the abysmal Jefferson
building and the ghastly 12-story Washington
Building just down the hill from the Capitol.
We can be thankful that other schemes never
got that far along.
In
the early 1970s, the Brahmins in the General
Assembly thought they could improve on Jefferson’s
design by transforming Capitol
Square
into the Gardens of Babylon.
Fortunately, the Garden Club of Virginia and
other opponents stared them down.
Several
years later, the governor ordered the demolition of
the Planters
Bank
Building
across from Capitol
Square
to make room for surface parking.
Opponents managed to get an injunction to
halt the destruction of this historical and
architectural gem.
In
1993, voter outrage prompted the General Assembly to
abandon its plans for a multi-story
Lottery
Building.
Whether prompted by the grandiose design of
the proposed building or by frustration with a
constantly expanding state bureaucracy, public
opposition was spontaneous and potent.
Last
year, the elaborate and controversial plan to
renovate and expand the Capitol at an expense to
taxpayers of more than $190 million warranted far
more public involvement than it received.
Now
the governor and legislative leaders are proposing
to spend another $16 million to demolish the
Eighth
Street
Office
Building
and build a parking deck in its place.
There are better and more cost effective
alternatives, but bureaucratic schemes, once set,
are very difficult to change.
The
Secretary of Administration, Sandra Bowen, recently
rejected private offers to purchase the
Eighth
Street
Office
Building
and the Ninth
Street
Office
Building
from the state. Each
building has historic value and is far more
compatible with Capitol
Square
than a multi-story parking deck.
That seems not to have been considered by
state officials.
Secretary
Bowen insists that planning for these and other
projects has been underway for years “and in full
public view.” That
is disputed by citizens who have tried to follow the
process.
Before
our Capitol and its surroundings come to resemble
the seat of government in Albany,
N.Y.,
or some third world capital, shouldn’t we involve
citizens and taxpayers in the planning process?
--
January 31,
2005
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