We think the Fort Monroe Authority picture that appears first below shows the wisdom in the alarms reported at the top of our home page. It shows a vision for a gated community without the gate -- on historically, recreationally, and environmentally precious land that has been publicly owned since the days of Jamestown. Recently the public expressed its will about this land overwhelmingly. If the public's will isn't ignored, everything on the foreground side of the moated fortress could well become green space -- more fitting for the historic "viewshed," for much-needed public access to waterfront parkland, and for a solid plan by which all of Fort Monroe can become a self-sustaining "grand public place."  The second picture below -- cobbled together by CFMNP's Webmaster -- shows one possible alternative to the "new Hampton neighborhood" in the first picture. This alternative respects the will of Fort Monroe's actual owners -- "the American people," as Fort Monroe Authority Chairman L. Preston Bryant, Jr., wrote in a recent public letter.

ABOVE: Frame 13 from the viewgraph presentation titled "Fort Monroe Reuse Plan, February 13, 2008, Dover, Kohl & Partners," posted at the Fort Monroe Authority's new Web site. Although this plainly inappropriate treatment of a national historic landmark has been widely discredited since a handful of leaders in Hampton began asserting it in July 2006, it's still being considered today. BELOW: CFMNP Webmaster Dave Gurganus cobbled this alternative view together, just to give a sense of the possibilities for a "grand public place" that could enrich all of us in multiple ways -- including financial enrichment for Hampton.

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