40 U.S.C. § 8901: Purposes

to preserve the integrity of the comprehensive design of the L’Enfant and McMillan plans for the Nation’s Capital; to ensure the continued public use and enjoyment of open space in the District of Columbia and its environs, and to encourage the location of commemorative works within the urban fabric of the District of Columbia; to preserve, protect and maintain the limited amount of open space available to residents of, and visitors to, the Nation’s Capital; and are appropriately designed, constructed, and located; and reflect a consensus of the lasting national significance of the subjects involved. the great cross-axis of the Mall in the District of Columbia, which generally extends from the United States Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial, and from the White House to the Jefferson Memorial, is a substantially completed work of civic art; and to preserve the integrity of the Mall, a reserve area should be designated within the core of the great cross-axis of the Mall where the siting of new commemorative works is prohibited.”