George,

From the perspective of a long time Washington, D.C. tour guide [now a resident of Charlottesville], I have enjoyed watching the Free Expression Monument from its inception to its completion. The positioning of the monument at the east end of the downtown Mall was brilliant. I could stand where it was being built and look toward Jefferson's mountain. Alas, the closer the Monument was to completion, the more blocked the view became with a high rise building. Did I miss something in the significance of the view?

I was present at the dedication of the Monument and was impressed with the array of speakers. I was disappointed though that the architects names were mentioned only as the closing remarks were almost finished. The first things I learned in tour guide school were the names of the architects and designers of the memorials and monuments!! And no mention was made of the architects in the program that was given out that day. I'm sure this was just an oversight!!

The day after the dedication as the workers were putting some final touches on the Monument, one of the workers asked me to get chalk as there was none available. I ended up buying a case of chalk from Order from Horder. I have left chalk at the Monument when there is none available. My reasoning is: no chalk, and other objects might be used to scratch on musings.

I am proud of the Monument and its architects Pete O'Shea and Robert Winstead. Free speech is essential to a civilized society!!

Gayle Floyd (electronic mail, June 23, 2006)

Note: An index to coverage of the Monument on this website is at http://loper.org/~george/trends/2006/May/986.html