congressional_record: CREC-1994-10-08-pt1-PgE28
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| CREC-1994-10-08-pt1-PgE28 | 1994-10-08 | 103 | 2 | A VICTORY FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION | HOUSE | EXTENSIONS | FRONTMATTER | E | E | [{"name": "Michael Andrews", "role": "speaking"}] | 140 Cong. Rec. E | Congressional Record, Volume 140 Issue 146 (Saturday, October 8, 1994) [Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 146 (Saturday, October 8, 1994)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov] [Congressional Record: October 8, 1994] From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] A VICTORY FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION ______ HON. MICHAEL A. ANDREWS of texas in the house of representatives Friday, October 7, 1994 Mr. ANDREWS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, last week the Walt Disney Co. announced its intention to withdraw its proposal for a $650 million theme park and real estate development adjacent to the Manassas National Battlefield Park. I am extremely pleased with Disney's decision, for I believe it shows great responsibility and respect for the historic northern Piedmont area of Virginia, and I commend the company on its courage to make the right choice. Mr. Speaker, I also want to take this time to applaud the efforts of the many individuals and organizations who participated in the effort to persuade Disney to find a more appropriate location, one that will not destroy lands of such historical significance. I also want to reiterate that my efforts to oppose the location of the proposed theme park were never anti-Disney. It is certainly Disney's right to construct an American history park. The battle I fought was to preserve historic lands. There is more American history in the northern Piedmont area than any other place in the United States. It is also home to two of the gems of our National Park System, Manassas National Battlefield Park and Shenandoah National Park. It simply would have been a travesty to locate such a massive development in this area. Today, Mr. Speaker, our forefathers that settled this area and made history there--great figures like George Washington, James Madison, James Monroe, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson--would find the heart of Virginia much as they left it. Although the area has seen development, for the most part it has been thoughtfully progressive and mindful of the historic and aesthetic significance of the region. It is a special place that includes 38 historic districts and 32 Civil War battlefields. This is an area where our Nation was forged from the early days of the American Revolution through the Civil War. It is also home to two of the most precious gems of our National Park System: Manassas National Battlefield Park and Shenandoah National Park. The impact to these parks under Disney's proposal would have been devastating. The Manassas National Battlefield Park and Shenandoah National Park are the property of all Americans, not solely for the people of Virginia; no more than Mount Rushmore belongs only to the people of South Dakota or the Grand Canyon to the citizens of Arizona. They are public lands that belong to all Americans. That is why I felt the Federal Government, and the U.S. Congress, has an important role to play in this matter, and that is why I introduced a concurrent resolution opposing the proposed site of the development and calling for an alternative site to be chosen. This victory is one for all Americans. Our Nation's history is a full and proud one which has served to strengthen our democratic ideals. The significant struggles that mark our history remind us of what others have endured to preserve and maintain those ideals, and they charge us with the same task. Once National Parks and historic lands are destroyed, they cannot be rebuilt. To turn a blind eye to devastation of such lands would have been to turn a blind eye on the history of our great country. Mr. Speaker, this battle was won because of the tremendous groundswell of support for the cause of preservation. During the past few months, almost every major newspaper and well-known columnist has written on this issue. I believe that the following piece, from The New York Times, provides an appropriate final opinion on the fight to preserve the historic Piedmont area, and I ask unanimous consent that it be placed in the Record immediately following my statement. [From the New York Times, Sept. 30, 1994] Disney Retreats at Bull Run Historians, writers and ordinary citizens won a victory for the national heritage on Wednesday. The Walt Disney Company abandoned the most irresponsible idea ever hatched in the Magic Kingdom and decided not to build a theme park near the Manassas Battlefield in Prince William County, Virginia. More than the fate of the battlefields of Manassas, or Bull Run, was involved, ``Disney's America'' would have flooded one of America's most historic and scenic regions, including the nearby Shenandoah National Park, with traffic and tacky development. In response to the threat to these national treasures, a large, articulate coalition defeated one of the country's richest corporations and its boosters in Virginia's Statehouse and Legislature. The Walt Disney Company had recently won two important battles. The county's planning board had agreed to the necessary rezoning for the project, and the regional transportation panel had approved $130 million in road improvements. But the company concluded that the outrage generated by the proposed project would mar Disney's image. It was a wise decision, but a tardy one, given the scale and stature of the opposition. There may have been other factors. Power struggles at the top of the company have dented its confidence. EuroDisney, its Paris project, has been a huge miscalculation. The last thing Disney needed was a bruising and protracted public relations battle against the nation's most respected writers and thinkers on the Civil War. Disney did not expect such a struggle. Gov. George Allen was on their side and a mindlessly generous Legislature was willing to pay millions in development expenses. What they did not reckon with was the passionate nationwide outcry that carried a clear message. The Manassas country-side is not Virginia's to sell. It belongs to the nation. Congress now needs to pass legislation designating a new kind of preservation area--the National Historic Region--that would enable it to control development in areas that are precious to the nation. Along with proving the power of organized, articulate opposition to a bad idea, the intellectuals, environmentalists, preservationists and ordinary citizens who fought the project proved something else. Michael Eisner, Disney's chairman, argued that Americans were ignorant about their history and needed Disney-style fun to teach them. As the historian David McCullough has pointed out, this episode has shown that Americans do know their history and care about ground made sacred by what occurred there. ____________________ |