Call to Action: Raising Awareness of Theodore Roosevelt Island

当西奥多·罗斯福于1919年去世时，纪念社区起草了几项纪念计划。最具争议的是华盛顿特区的国家纪念碑美国的潮汐盆地。这个神圣的空间占据了国家广场上最后一个空缺的基点，完成了最初为华盛顿设计的十字形图案。城市规划者和国会花了数年的时间来决定应该在那里建什么。人们对罗斯福纪念馆寄予厚望，但1926年立法者否决了这一提议。与其他没有自己的神坛的美国偶像相比，罗斯福被封为神坛似乎有些草率。取而代之的是，国会投票决定建造托马斯·杰斐逊纪念堂，它占据了今天的潮汐盆地。西奥多·罗斯福岛的故事从这里开始，在这里，国家广场上没有纪念碑，促使人们寻找替代品。1931年，西奥多·罗斯福纪念协会（TRA）购买了阿纳洛斯坦岛，作为国家纪念馆的所在地。林肯纪念堂以西横跨波托马克河。TRA将该岛捐赠给国家政府，并将其重新命名为西奥多·罗斯福岛。著名景观设计师弗雷德里克·劳·奥姆斯特德（Frederick Law Olmsted）将这座岛屿设计成原始森林，以纪念罗斯福作为自然资源保护主义者和鸟类学家的遗产，但在第二次世界大战后，首都的工程师们通过修建一条穿越岛屿的四车道高速公路来缓解城市交通。这条公路摧毁了奥姆斯特德对自然保护区的设想，并迫使TRA重新定义罗斯福的遗产。他们成功地游说国会为罗斯福建造了一个纪念广场和一座17英尺高的雕像。1967年，林登·约翰逊（Lyndon Johnson）总统为纪念碑揭幕，强调罗斯福是一个进步主义者，他“在美国人的生活中留下了一个印记，只要美国为自己感到骄傲，为自己的目标感到自豪”。今天，大多数人在过桥时都坐在车里观察这座岛。尽管该岛靠近国家广场，但纪念广场吸引的游客很少。很少有人知道该岛在华盛顿历史上的地位，也很少有人知道它是如何影响罗斯福的公众记忆的。该项目将制作一部关于该岛历史的纪录片，作为对罗斯福的纪念，以激发公众参与。这部纪录片将以审查TRA在潮汐盆地地点建立纪念碑的计划以及他们最终失败的计划开始。它将包括西奥多·罗斯福岛在1931年TRA购买之前的简短历史，然后探索弗雷德里克·劳·奥姆斯特德（Frederick Law Olmsted）为保护主义者纪念碑和1967年纪念碑的建造而设计的景观设计。它将以国家养老金计划在岛上的振兴计划以及即将到来的罗斯福逝世100周年和纪念馆落成50周年结束。Michael Patrick Cullinane博士将与Clay Jenkinson博士（Dickinson州立大学TR中心）和ThunderShot Studios（华盛顿特区）合作制作剧本。这部电影将由杰出的学者、现任TRA成员、罗斯福家族成员、国家公园护林员、当地活动家或居民出演。这部纪录片的核心是卡利南博士对罗斯福公众记忆的研究。该项目将以创新的方式积极传播人权委员会资助的研究，并得到独立确定需要恢复公众对纪念岛兴趣的非学术伙伴的支持。这部电影将以DVD的形式发行，并在多个电视市场播出。

When Theodore Roosevelt died in 1919, memorial communities drafted plans for several monumental tributes. The most controversial was the national memorial at Washington D.C.'s tidal basin. This sacred space occupied the last vacant cardinal point on the national mall and completed the cross-shaped pattern originally designed for Washington. It took city planners and Congress years of deliberation to determine what should be erected there. Expectations ran high for a Roosevelt memorial, but in 1926 legislators rejected the proposal. Compared with other American icons with no shrine of their own, Roosevelt's beatification seemed hasty. Congress instead voted to construct the Thomas Jefferson memorial which occupies the tidal basin today. The story of Theodore Roosevelt Island begins here, where the absence of a memorial on the national mall prompted the search for alternatives.The Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Association (TRA) purchased Analostan Island in 1931 as the location for a national memorial. West of the Lincoln Memorial the island straddles the Potomac River. The TRA donated the island to the national government and renamed it Theodore Roosevelt Island. Renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted designed the island as primeval forest to celebrate Roosevelt's legacy as a conservationist and ornithologist, but after World War II the capital's engineers alleviated city traffic by building a four-lane highway across the island. The road destroyed Olmsted's vision of a nature reserve and forced the TRA to re-conceptualize Roosevelt's legacy. They successfully lobbied Congress to construct a memorial plaza and 17-foot statue of Roosevelt, and in 1967 President Lyndon Johnson dedicated the monument, emphasizing Roosevelt as progressive who left "a mark upon American life that will endure as long as America has pride in itself, and pride in its purpose." Today, most people observe the island from their car as they cross the bridge. The memorial plaza attracts few visitors, despite the island's proximity to the national mall. Few people know the island's place in Washington's history or the way it has influenced Roosevelt's public memory. This project will produce a documentary on the history of the island as a memorial to Roosevelt to invigorate public engagement. The documentary will begin with an examination of the TRA's plan to erect a memorial at the tidal basin site and their ultimate failure to do so. It will include a short history of Theodore Roosevelt Island prior to the TRA's purchase in 1931 before exploring Frederick Law Olmsted's landscape design for a conservationist memorial and the construction of the 1967 monument. It will conclude with the NPS plans for revitalization on the island and the forthcoming centenary of Roosevelt's death and 50th anniversary of the memorial's dedication. Dr. Michael Patrick Cullinane will craft the script in collaboration with Dr. Clay Jenkinson (TR Center at Dickinson State University) and ThunderShot Studios (Washington, D.C.). The film will feature distinguished academics, current members of the TRA, Roosevelt family members, National Park rangers, and local activists or residents. At the heart of the documentary is Dr. Cullinane's research on Roosevelt's public memory. This project will actively disseminate AHRC funded research in innovative ways and has the support of non-academic partners who independently identified a need to revivify public interest in the memorial island. The film will be released as a DVD and broadcast in multiple television markets.