Every now and then a genuinely worthy cause for taxpayer money happens across our paths. Today, I discovered such a cause: the renovation of the brilliant MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, Virginia.
Although it is true that Norfolk is a “Navy” town, its politicians offered a sweet deal to General MacArthur that he would have been stupid to pass up as a location for his Memorial. It’s rather large, resembling in both form and substance a Presidential library. It has a gift shop, a substantial library, a movie theater (largely useless given the silly video they play on repeat), and, of course, the resting place of the General and his beloved wife, Jean, who passed away in 2000 at the age of 101.
About the renovation:
The foundation has raised $1 million toward its goal of $2.5 million. The city has pledged to match contributions up to $2 million. Davis expects construction to start in about a year. The goal is to have the project completed in time to coincide with the opening of light rail in early 2010. It is the first expansion to the memorial since 1990 when the research and education areas grew. The memorial attracts 50,000 to 60,000 visitors a year. More than 4.5 million have visited the site since it opened in 1964.
You can count me amongst the 4.5 million have gone and been touched by its majesty. Although it is not exactly Napoleon’s tomb, it does have some of the dignity of the General in the place, though sadly too cramped and altogether inadequate to memorialize our American Caesar.
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