Thank you, Congress

One of the oddest heritage tourism stories to come out in several years involved West Virginia's idea to build a National Civil War Memorial (to attract visitors rather than honor the dead) in a place well off the Civil War trail - Wheeling.

It was an extreme case of build it and they will come, in this case, build Civil War-themed stuff and they will come.

Today's news gives hope (although one can't tell if this is a purely accidental outcome):

The city of Wheeling most likely will not be the site of the National Civil War Memorial as once hoped. Frank O'Brien, Director of the Wheeling CVB, [said] Wheeling didn't get the congressional designation for the memorial, something needed for fundraising.

The Wheeling deal would have been gasoline on the already fired imaginations of avaricious state tourism officials nationwide. There would have been construction of National Civil War Memorials across the entire country.

Now, if you truly gave a fig for what this is really all about, you could raise funds regardless.