An end to Hampton's presumption on fort
Fort Monroe: obituary for a presumption
Steven T. Corneliussen
Daily Press, Sept. 30, 2006
Wizard of Oz quotations apply to the misguided attempt to foster misuse of post-Army Fort Monroe. After last year’s
closure announcement, the Pentagon and Hampton began trying to reduce that national treasure to a mere economic plum
for the city.
Their attempt stems partly from base-closure processes, rotten for distinguishing our bayfront national treasure from
any old drab Camp Swampy, and partly from Hampton’s impressive initiative.
The attempt has drawn credibility from a strange, pervasive, but false presumption: that Hampton must
inevitably own this historic, recreational and cultural treasure. Until recently, most citizens, politicians,
journalists and civic leaders appeared to buy the presumption unquestioningly.
No longer. This column is an obituary for that presumption. As Munchkins say, it’s not just merely dead, but really
most sincerely dead.
Sunlight killed it. This summer, people began seeing that donating Fort Monroe to a single city would be
preposterous, like giving Mount Vernon to Alexandria, or Monticello to Charlottesville.
Here’s proof of death:
* A Norfolk Virginian-Pilot editorial declared Fort Monroe a national treasure that no single city can handle, and
urged Virginia’s congressional delegation to have Congress mandate a National Park Service feasibility study for a
Fort Monroe National Park.
* A Daily Press editorial declared Fort Monroe a national treasure that "belongs under the federal or state
mantle."
* A Daily Press editorial-page survey revealed overwhelming public sentiment for a national park.
* A Virginian-Pilot online poll revealed overwhelming public sentiment for a self-sustaining national park something
like San Francisco’s innovative, entrepreneurial Presidio.
* Presidio executive director Craig Middleton urged Virginians to settle the Fort Monroe jurisdiction question -- which
doesn’t need settling if Hampton inevitably owns the post.
* Del. Tom Gear, whose district includes Fort Monroe and who sits on Hampton’s Fort Monroe committee, forthrightly
questions the Hampton-owns-it presumption. That brought him unjust criticism last year. He has visited Middleton and
the Presidio, and urges study of all options.
* State and national politicians have discussed the national park idea with a civic group I belong to, Citizens
for a Fort Monroe National Park (CFMNP.org). We’ve also discussed it with editorial boards at newspapers in Norfolk,
Newport News and Richmond, and on radio shows.
Please note, though: the Hampton-owns-it presumption is dead in public discussion, but Hampton still has enormous power
in this complex matter. A McFort Monroe -- a gated community without the gate -- could still deprive coming
generations of what Fort Monroe ought to become.
So Fort Monroe’s true friends still must act to ensure the post becomes a grand public place for everyone.
Ideally, Hampton could join the effort. Mayor Ross Kearney, for example, genuinely wants a Fort Monroe for his
grandchildren to cherish. In a December 2005 Richmond Times-Dispatch interview, he spoke favorably about the
Presidio precedent.
To make Fort Monroe a grand, active public place for illuminating history, for preserving historic residences and
buildings by using them, for expanding public access to bayside green space, and for walking, biking, picnicking,
water sports and beachgoing, Fort Monroe’s true friends can:
* Ask congressional representatives and Senators Warner and Allen to secure that crucial national park feasibility
study.
* Urge Hampton’s leaders to call for a self-sustaining, region-transforming, Williamsburg-complementing,
prosperity-enhancing Fort Monroe National Park.
* Urge state politicians too, since Fort Monroe’s most important parts will revert by deed to Virginia.
* Make political candidates discuss the issue.
* Press the issue in Virginia’s online political blogs.
In the Wizard of Oz, Toto pulled back a curtain and revealed a mere man, not a wizard, manipulating levers and knobs. A
voice boomed, "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!"
No. Please do pay attention. The Hampton-owns-it presumption is dead, but the Pentagon and Hampton could still foster
misuse of Fort Monroe. It's still ours to lose or save.