The National Mall is a huge expanse of green lawn in the middle of our bustling city, a monument to America’s greatest leaders and history and one of the world’s most heavily photographed spots. But large parts of the Mall have been neglected and are falling into disrepair.

These parts of the Mall include Constitution Gardens neat the Lincoln Memorial, the grounds surrounding the Washington Monument, and Union Square in front of the Capitol, and they’re about to receive a major facelift.

The nonprofit Trust for the National Mall unveiled the finalists in a design competition for  the neglected areas of the Mall on Monday. Concepts include a large outdoor amphitheater around the Washington Monument and a series of floating walkways and a floating restaurant on a pond in Constitution Gardens.

The Trust for the National Mall aims to raise $350 million to restore the Mall, including the full renovation of one of the neglected sites by 2016, according to The Washington Post. In recent years, individuals like Jon Stewart and Laura Bush have led significant campaigns to donate funds to the Trust.

All of the final design concepts will be on display for the public at the Smithsonian Castle and the American Museum of Natural History until Sunday. If the trek down to the Mall is too much for you in this season of midterms and tourists, you can always look at The Washington Post’s gallery

Photo: washingtonpost.com