Pierre L’Enfant’s vision for the National Mall is not what we see today. In a lecture tonight, Judy Scott Feldman will show why L’Enfant’s concept was never fully achieved, and, along with historical images, she will discuss how the National Mall came to be what it is today and will raise questions on how it might look in the future.

Feldman is chairwoman of the National Coalition to Save Our Mall, an organization founded in 2000 to help protect and preserve the National Mall in the wake of new development and security issues. The native Washingtonian and art historian taught art history at American University until 1999.

The event is part of the Overbeck Lecture Series sponsored by the Ruth Ann Overbeck Capitol Hill History Project. The group collects educational materials and oral histories as part of an ongoing effort to record the events that have shaped the Capitol Hill community.

The lecture will be held at 8 p.m. today at the Naval Lodge Hall, 330 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. The lecture is free, but reservations must be made at overbecklecture@aol.com or 202-544-1845.

— Marnette Federis