Memories of Building the MLK Jr. Memorial

Today was the first day visitors could tour the memorial to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr in Washington, DC. The new Martin Luther King Jr Memorial will officially be dedicated on August 28, the 48th anniversary of King Jr's "I have a dream" speech on the Washington Mall.

The memorial to the American civil rights leader is near West Potomac Park ("Polo Fields") & construction has taken a few years which has taken away field space from pickup games of Ultimate Frisbee.

Back in January 2008, there was an original showed area of the MLK memorial that would be along the Tidal Basin side only.

An Auxiliary Building, sited on the west side of West Basin Drive, was later added...
Yet, construction encroached heavily* on the west side of West Basin Drive (not depicted in the original schemas).
* = size of an Ultimate field.

Aerial view of the Polo Fields (2013)

Bad News: More tourist foot traffic to possibly disrupt Ultimate pickup game(s).
More competition for parking in West Potomac Park.

Good News: If "Auxiliary Building" = restrooms & water, then these amenities would be closer to remaining field space.
West Basin Drive SW will be re-opened.
Less fencing where frisbees could be flung over & be lost to.
A memorial to an incredibly influential figure is accomplished.

Losing Ground

Google recently updated its satellite imagery of the DC area & the new shots illustrate how much our reliable pickup location - West Potomac Park - has been monumentally lost.


Timeline:
January 2008 - Announcement.

January 2009 - Posts Up. Fencing.

August 2009 (before)...



September 2010 (after) ...

Flat-Out Truth

"When a ball dreams,
it dreams it's a disc."

This Land is Our Land

The lack of idling buses was one major benefit of the MLK project. There were drawbacks -- grinding up the NE corner of our open space, taking away car parking options, blocking off a thoroughfare, creating an unsightly barrier where frisbees may fly into yet never fly out, to name a few.

And now this...the latest encroachment onto weekend pickup fields has marked its territory at the southern end of the Polo Fields, parallel to Ohio Drive.

True hollyWOOD Story

Received lotsa inquiries RE: what's on the other side of the fencing that has reduced the amount of playing (& parking) space @ the Polo Fields. Destruction of natural shade providers...

Post Update

UPDATE to the Post post...

Field of Posts

Yes, one of the first posts of the year is about posts!

At Saturday's pickup, there was much wind [gusts up to 40+ mph] in the air & lotsa tall wooden posts - between 40-50 - in the ground on the site of off-season pickup @ the NE corner of Polo Fields. Most attendees figured it (the posts, not the wind) is MLK Memorial construction-related.

Game On

Where?
Dr. King's Memorial site is a four-acre plot on the north east corner of the Tidal Basin within the precinct of the Jefferson Memorial and north of the memorial to President Roosevelt. Not on the Polo Fields of our beloved pickup games, yet will increase parking space competition in that area.

When will the Memorial be completed?
The Ceremonial Groundbreaking occurred on November 13, 2006. The start of construction is contingent upon raising $100 million. The Dedication of the Memorial is tentatively scheduled for 2009.

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'" -- Dr. King

A pioneer of Spirit of the Game, MLK futuristically remarked on frisbee's 4:3 - If you got 7-on-the-line, then game on!