Washington Board of Trade

Discussion Questions

• From the very start of the Washington Board of Trade in November 1889, the "peculiar system of government" in Washington, D.C. is cited as the largest need for the board. Discuss the ways in which the board has functioned as a quasi-form of city government. What are its shortcomings a quasi-form of city government? Did the nature and vision of the Board change with home rule in 1974?
• Read closely "The proposal and formation of the Washington Board of Trade" and "The organization of the Washington Board of Trade". What evidence can be found that demonstrates the influence and weight newspapers carried at this point in the late nineteenth century? Why did newspapers carry a heavy influence? 
• In the legal document that formally incorporates the Board of Trade, how is the legitimacy of the new organization established? How might the "peculiar system of government" of Washington, D.C. given the board more power than the average board of trade enjoyed in any given American city?
• The name of the organization transformed over time from The Board of Trade for the District of Columbia to The Washington Board of Trade to The Metropolitan Washington Board of Trade to finally The Greater Washington Board of Trade. How and why does this illustrate the manner in which the nature of American cities have transformed since 1889?
• The 1979 advertisement brochure indicates the organization had just changed its name from The Metropolitan Washington Board of Trade to The Greater Washington Board of Trade. Is this important? Why would the word "greater" be more descriptive of the organization and encompassing of the area than "metropolitan"?
• Why is investment in the cultural infrastructure important to a city? Why did the Washington Board of Trade devote a tremendous amount resources to the cultural infrastructure? 
• A performing arts event, a professional sporting event, and a convention are very different functions. Why did the Board of Trade view them together in the same light when it came to the construction and maintenance of their venues? Essentially, are a baseball game, an opera, and a convention the same thing when it comes to the impact on the District? How are they the same? How are they different?
• Why did the Washington Board of Trade devote so much time and energy for the better part of four decades in attempting to land a World's Fair for the city? Why is it important to a city to become a host for an event such as the World's Fair or the Olympics?
• The failed bid for the 1964 World's Fair was slated for rural farmland in Largo and the Capital Centre arena stood for 29 years in Landover. Why suburban Maryland? What does this illustrate about the process of suburbanization that took place in the second half of the 20th century?
• Why was the Board of Trade against the hockey and basketball teams playing in Landover, wanting them to play downtown, either in the Eisenhower Civic Center or in an arena built at Union Station? With having a metropolitan wide focus, what would be the difference to the board if hockey and basketball played in downtown Washington or in Landover?
• What are the possible reasons the two venues that would have primarily hosted D.C. professional sports failed (the Eisenhower Civic Center and the National Memorial Stadium), while two non-sports venues in the Kennedy Center and the D.C. Convention Center were successful?
• Why is the word "bicentennial" within the official name of the Eisenhower Civic Center project? It is significant? In the open letter to the President and Congress, why does the Board of Trade state it is "essential that this Memorial Center be completed and in operation by the time of the Nation’s 200th Anniversary"?
• Read Nixon's letter to Rep. Kenneth Gray closely. Can you find the unintended foreshadow Nixon made towards why Congress failed to approve H.R. 16261 when he references to Gray how the civic center would have been financed?
• Is it significant that Nixon wrote the letter to Gray two days after the open letter from the Washington Board of Trade was printed in the newspaper?