WASHINGTON — A mausoleum built for the late, revered Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee is facing criticism for the way it is positioned in a historic Georgetown cemetery, and now a D.C. agency says the structure requires a permit.
The mausoleum at Oak Hill Cemetery sits near the entrance, and some are claiming it changes the landscape and view of the cemetery in an inappropriate way.
The landscape “is significantly altered with the addition of this mausoleum,” says Charles Birnbaum, president of the Cultural Landscape Foundation.
The D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs decided Wednesday that the family needs a permit for the mausoleum. The agency says permits help maintain public safety and the family will be given time to “correct the issue.”
Initially, the team that constructed the mausoleum did not have permits for the project.
The cemetery was founded in 1849; monuments were added to the entrance in the 1880s.
“Now when you go in the front gate, you literally have the name ‘Bradlee’ obstructing the viewshed and entrance, which hasn’t ever been changed since the 1880s in a significant way,” Birnbaum says.
The story was first reported by City Lab. The cemetery’s superintendent, Dave Jackson, told City Lab that “there isn’t any formal approval or permitting process for building new mausoleums.”
The scrutiny comes on the day Bradlee’s body is interred in the mausoleum. He died a year ago at the age of 93.
