WASHINGTON, DC - On May 3, the coalition released an architectural vision of the proposed National Museum of the American People that depicts what could become a major new Washington landmark at the end of L'Enfant Plaza, overlooking the Maine Avenue waterfront and the Washington Channel of the Potomac River.

The Museum will tell the story of all of the people who became Americans, from the prehistoric period through today. It is expected to attract several million visitors each year and perhaps as many as a million new visitors annually to the Washington region. Coalition Director Sam Eskenazi said he believes that "it will attract Americans young and old who come to see their own stories and learn about all of the others. Foreign visitors will be drawn to learn about the people from their country who came here who made the United States the great nation that we are."

The architectural vision developed by MTFA Architecture of Arlington, Virginia provides a sense of what this major new museum could look like on one of the major sites in Washington designated as a location for a future museum by three federal agencies -- the National Park Service, National Capital Planning Commission and U.S. Commission on Fine Arts. The final selection of an architect will be made by the Museum once it is created and the Museum will work with federal agencies and Congress to obtain the best possible site.

The Coalition for the National Museum of the American People is seeking bipartisan Congressional support for a resolution supporting the appointment of a Presidential Commission to study the establishment of the museum. Recognizing the current fiscal climate, the Coalition emphasizes that it is not calling for any federal funds to either build the museum or pay for the Presidential Commission.

If the Museum is built at what is called the Banneker Overlook site at the end of L'Enfant Plaza, it would serve to link two central spaces in Washington, the National Mall and the Southwest Waterfront along Maine Avenue which is undergoing a major redevelopment that will include condos, shops, restaurants, a river walk and other amenities to attract visitors. The Overlook site is under NPS jurisdiction. The Museum would be in a direct line of sight of the Smithsonian's Castle Building, a short walk away down L'Enfant Plaza which is slated to be revitalized. This museum site would provide fresh views of the Potomac River and downriver scenes of Virginia and Maryland. The L'Enfant Plaza Metro Station is nearby and automobile and parking access would be readily available.

The four soaring structures arising from the grass covered roof of the central building in the MTFA Architecture design evoke several aspects of the proposed Museum's story: Flags of nations over a landscape of waves, four books opening to reveal chapters of the story of the making of the American People or sails recalling vessels that brought many to this land over the early periods of the formation of the American people. The maritime aesthetic also relates to the nearby marina where an extension of the museum could berth sailing vessels of the type used to bring early European settlers, slaves, and others to these waters.

During the day, the textures of the concrete "flags" will constantly change with the movement of the sun's shadows across the facade. At night, films could be projected onto these surfaces. The MTFA Architecture design calls for a state of the art green building that would serve as a model for the Southwest Ecodistrict.

While the new Arena Stage theater anchors Maine Avenue at one end, this museum could anchor the redesigned waterfront at the other end. The Museum's international food court and plaza, with a mix of restaurants and a gift shop located along Maine Avenue, could remain open after museum hours and help to stimulate nighttime street life.

The Museum is envisioned to include more than 400,000 square feet of space devoted to exhibitions, collections, educational resources, genealogical research, films and a major academic center.

The Museum's final design would have to go through an extensive review process as do all proposed buildings in Washington's central core area on or near the National Mall. After the Presidential Commission studies establishment of the Museum and issues its report to the President and Congress, legislation would be required to create an entity that would be charged with building the museum and raising all of the money to build it.

MTFA Architecture is an award winning firm located in Arlington, Virginia that specializes in projects that shape our culture, build on commerce and positively shape people's lives. They have a long history of projects that build consensus for planning and design involving mixed use, commercial, cultural and educational functions. "The stories about the migration and immigration of our ancestors and recent arrivals are dramatic and will be compellingly told in this Museum," said Eskenazi. "This will be America's only national institution devoted exclusively to telling the full story of the making of all of the American people." Both Canada and Mexico have major national museums in their capitals telling the stories of their people and they are the most visited museums in those nations."

The Museum's full story could be told in four chapters: (1) The First Peoples Come, from the prehistoric period to 1607 with the English settlement in Jamestown; (2) The Nation Takes Form, from 1607 to 1820; (3) The Great In-Gathering, from 1820 to 1924; (4) And Still They Come, from 1924 to the present.