Artist: Tom Kozar
(photo by Rich)
This preservation-minded panda illustrates one of the minor historical events that make Washington, D.C. such an interesting city. The painting on the bear depicts a March 1954 hike along the the entire length of the historic C&O Canal, "hosted" by preservationist U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas with members of the news media. Publicity from the event convinced the U.S. Congress to scrap a plan that would have converted and redeveloped the canal into a motorway. According to the artist, "On the front of the Panda I illustrated the hike coming out of Paw Paw Tunnel and Georgetown, the end of the Canal. On the back I illustrated the Cumberland [Maryland] end of the canal followed by the Monocacy Aqueduct, all are being restored for our enjoyment and visual historical understanding of our past. On the Panda's head is a cap with the pin that can be bought at Canal gift stores to help fund the projects."
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