40 USC § 8901 - Purposes

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t40/s8901"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_legal_evidence"
title: "40 USC § 8901 - Purposes"
title_number: 40
title_name: "PUBLIC BUILDINGS, PROPERTY, AND WORKS"
section_number: "8901"
section_name: "Purposes"
chapter_number: 89
chapter_name: "NATIONAL CAPITAL MEMORIALS AND COMMEMORATIVE WORKS"
part_number: "D"
part_name: "PUBLIC BUILDINGS, GROUNDS, AND PARKS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA"
positive_law: true
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-04-17"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Pub. L. 107–217, Aug. 21, 2002, 116 Stat. 1227; Pub. L. 108–126, title II, § 203(a), Nov. 17, 2003, 117 Stat. 1349.)"
---


# § 8901. Purposes

The purposes of this chapter are—

**(1)** to preserve the integrity of the comprehensive design of the L’Enfant and McMillan plans for the Nation’s Capital;

**(2)** 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;

**(3)** to preserve, protect and maintain the limited amount of open space available to residents of, and visitors to, the Nation’s Capital; and

**(4)** to ensure that future commemorative works in areas administered by the National Park Service and the Administrator of General Services in the District of Columbia and its environs—

**(A)** are appropriately designed, constructed, and located; and

**(B)** reflect a consensus of the lasting national significance of the subjects involved.

---

**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 107–217, Aug. 21, 2002, 116 Stat. 1227; Pub. L. 108–126, title II, § 203(a), Nov. 17, 2003, 117 Stat. 1349.)

| RevisedSection | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 8901 | 40:1001. | Pub. L. 99–652, § 1, Nov. 14, 1986, 100 Stat. 3650. |

## Editorial Notes

### Amendments

2003—Par. (2).  substituted “Columbia and its environs, and to encourage the location of commemorative works within the urban fabric of the District of Columbia;” for “Columbia;”.

## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Effective Date of 2003 Amendment

> “Except for the provision in the amendment made by section 202(b) [amending
> 
> ] prohibiting a visitor center from being located in the Reserve (as defined in
> 
> , United States Code), nothing in this title [see Short Title of 2003 Amendment note set out under
> 
> ] shall apply to a commemorative work for which a site was approved in accordance with chapter 89 of title 40, United States Code, prior to the date of enactment of this title [
> 
> ].”

, , , provided that:

### Findings

> **“(1)** 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
> 
> **“(2)** 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.”

, , , provided that: