The National Mall Table
by Kitty Felde
Senator Something pulled me over to the display table with the model of the National Mall. The one with the two Washington Monuments. He stood up on his hind legs and sniffed the white plastic pieces.
“No, Senator Something.”
He ignored me. He bit right into one of the Washington Monuments, raising his head in triumph, his mouth full of broken plastic monument.
“Get down from there! Get down, you stupid dog!” The policewoman stared at the display of the National Mall and with one perfect Washington Monument and one broken off at the base. I never did get around to asking Papa why there were two of them.
“Destroying U.S. property,” she said, “you are in so much trouble. Wanton destruction of government property. Your father will hear about this from the OCAS!”
I didn’t know what OCAS stood for, but I knew it was something important. And I knew Senator Something and I were in trouble. - Fina Mendoza
So Many Questions
Why ARE there two Washington Monuments on the National Mall table? What's the PURPOSE of the National Mall table anyway? And what the heck is the OCAS?
(photo of the original National Mall table by Kitty Felde)
What's the OCAS?
Our tour guide for these questions is Tyler Pumphrey, Director of the Office of Congresssional Accessibility Services, otherwise known as the OCAS.
Since the 1980's, the OCAS has been finding ways to make Capitol Hill accessible to ALL Americans. That includes accessible parking (you need to ask your member of Congress to arrange this) and Assistive Listening Devices and the National Mall table.
(map courtesy of the OCAS)
Why Two Washington Monuments?
Tyler Pumphrey says the original display was created in the 1980's to provide a "tactile table of the National Mall for low vision or blind visitors to see the city through touch." Three models were built.
Why duplicate monuments?
The original tables were built in three pieces, designed to be spaced apart to allow easier access. At some point, the separate pieces were pushed together to allow visitors to understand the entire layout of the Mall.
(photo courtesy of Kitty Felde)The old table had two problems: duplicate monuments and missing museums.
The National Mall has changed a lot over the last four decades. Visitors looking for the National Museum of African American History and Culture, for example, would find an empty space on the old table.
3D and Bronze
A new table was commissioned. It's about the same size (96" long by 36" wide and 32" high) and more visually appealing to the visitors gifted with vision. "It's in color, like a Google maps photo," says Pumphrey. The model includes grass, water features, and roads.
The new table was built by Touch Graphics in Maryland. And it's built to last. Instead of the plastic figures on the old table, all the monuments and museums on the new table were 3-D printed in bronze, then painted. (Poor Senator Something would break a tooth trying to bite off THIS Washington Monument.)
Pumphrey says the table has to be tough: it's the number one attraction on the tour of the U.S. Capitol. The reason? It's the only thing visitors are allowed to touch.
(photo courtesy of Kitty Felde)
Peek Inside!
There's one special "Easter egg" (treat) inside the tables' Lincoln Memorial at the west end of the Mall. Peek inside to see a tiny model of the statue of Abraham Lincoln.
(photo courtesy of Touch Graphics)Peek InsideIf you want to see the old version of the National Mall table (and perhaps look for the teeth marks from Senator Something) there's one of the original tables on display near the credit union in the Hart Senate Office Building.
Sources:
interview with Tyler Pumphrey - Director of the Office of Congresssional Accessibility Services