Saturday, July 19, 2014

Robert E. Lee's Arlington mansion gets $12 million donation

Via Bob

 

After philanthropist David M. Rubenstein agreed to fund half the cost of fixing the earthquake damaged Washington Monument, he asked National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis: "What else you got?"

"Well, I have a long list," Jarvis said he replied. At the top was the repair of the tattered 200-year-old Arlington House and Robert E. Lee Memorial in Arlington Cemetery. It's condition, Jarvis thought, was embarrassing.

Last winter, on a cold, rainy day, Jarvis gave Rubenstein a tour of the house where the famous Confederate general had lived before the Civil War. Rubenstein asked for a repair proposal.
"We proposed $12.3 million," Jarvis said Thursday. He said Rubenstein replied: "Be glad to do that."

2 comments:

  1. Its hard to find rich folks nowadays that would voluntarily donate that much to historical preservation especially if he was associated with the confederacy

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