2022 Professional Awards
of the Potomac Chapter ASLA
Guardians of the First Amendment Memorial
Moody GrahamThe memorial uses natural materials and motifs to present compelling imagery and a design tied closely to the surrounding history and environment. The judges applauded the project’s use of symbolism in subtle and profound ways to tell the community’s heartbreaking but ultimately inspiring story.
Merit Award in Design Built
The Guardians of the First Amendment Memorial was built in response to the shooting on June 28, 2018, that took the lives of five journalists working at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, MD.
A grove of trees, symbolizing the community, is embraced by a curving granite wall, inscribed with the First Amendment, against a brick backdrop characteristic of historic, 17th-century Annapolis.
Columns representing fallen journalists metaphorically guard the First Amendment, as rain-loving plants and crushed stone paving guide drainage into an on-site bioretention garden.
The memorial was dedicated on the shooting’s third anniversary in a ceremony attended by families of the deceased, journalists working at the Gazette, government officials, first responders, and members of the public.
Project Team
Client: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee
Landscape Architect: Moody Graham
Graphic Design: Ashton Design
Contractor: Oldetowne Landscape Architects
Bench Donation: Victor Stanley
Funding: State of Maryland / Anne Arundel County / City of Annapolis
Misc: Coldspring Granite, Organic Lock, RamJack
Photo Credit
Allen Russ
Congratulations to Moody Graham.
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