Daniel Moynihan Place is set amid the much larger
Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, which, at 1.9 million sq. ft., is
one of the largest federal structures in our nation’s capital.
It was inexplicable
to me that such a large complex would be associated with such an unrelenting
critic of the federal government. But then again, it’s probably not more of a
head-scratcher than the decision to name a national airport in that metro area
after the President who fired air-traffic controllers after they went out on
strike, then refused to rehire them.
Likewise, it seemed unexplainable that this
particular of space within the complex would be named for the late U.S. Senator
from New York, one of the most perceptive critics of Reagan’s policies in the
White House.
But unlike many in Washington now, Senator Moynihan
was not one to let politics become overly personal, or to let such ill feeling
interfere with a larger objective. When Bill Clinton signed the legislation
naming the building after Reagan 20 years ago Tuesday, the senator said the
structure was "named for a great president and a good cause."
That statement might need some context, particularly
since Moynihan continually assailed Reagan’s urban policies, signature tax cuts
and "consuming obsession with the expansion of Communism – which is not in
fact going on." By the time Clinton signed this legislation, however,
Reagan had publicly disclosed his struggle with Alzheimer’s and the GOP, now in
control of Capitol Hill, wished to honor its hero. Moynihan had an eye on a
prize of his own: the revitalization of Pennsylvania Avenue, a charge given him
by then-boss John F. Kennedy after the latter noticed the dingy street on his
inaugural day parade.
The Reagan Building, then, fulfilled one element in
Moynihan’s long-range, quarter-century vision, so he yielded on the naming of the site with good
grace.
I did not know any of this history when I visited
Washington last month and took this picture. This open space merely seemed to offer a great nocturnal
image, the kind of place that up-and-coming politico Francis Underwood would
stride through in the TV series House of
Cards.
On second thought, however, I wondered about that.
As seen here, Moynihan Place offers a blaze of light. It would be far too
bright for the machinations of Underwood, who prefers
an infinitely darker, more solitary place to implement his ruthless schemes.
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