When I first saw the picture of the proposed modifications to Lafayette Park, Pennsylvania Avenue and the front portion of the White House grounds [front page, May 23], it occurred to me that there now exists a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be innovative, aesthetic and serviceable all at the same time.

Let's get away from the rigid geometry portrayed in the proposal. Why not an amphitheater with stage and fountain screen? How about indiscriminately disposed hills and valleys with curving non-geometric walkways, some reserved for the skaters who have so much fun today? What about a skating rink for wintertime and a reflecting pool or fish pond in the summer? Consider trees and shrubs of endangered species, as I've seen done on the grounds of a flood-control dam on Oahu. The opportunities seem endless.

Private and corporation financing could be an extension of the cooperation that upgraded the rest of Pennsylvania Avenue recently. By the way, good show to all those who contributed. Schoolchildren financed the Washington Monument, and unless I miss my guess they'd jump at the chance to be involved in something permanent and associated with the White House. Get the entire community, which includes the rest of the country, involved. After all, it is the people's concern.

SAMUEL B. POWELL

Fairfax

Shame on The Post, and shame on the Washington political and commercial elite for supporting the opening of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House.

I am a Foreign Service officer who observed firsthand the damage a small car bomb can do. In 1993 a car bomb went off about a block from my apartment in Rome. While, fortunately, no one was killed, the area where the car bomb exploded was one of utter devastation. The car itself vaporized. Other cars turned into pillars of flame. A small day-care center disappeared. The facades of two apartment houses were severely damaged. Every window in a nearby high school was broken, as were many windows for a half-mile radius.

The Post ["Reopen Pennsylvania Avenue," editorial, May 22], speaks of using other security means to protect the White House. What means? A two-story wall between Pennsylvania Avenue and the White House? Secret Service agents poised to stop suspicious vehicles? Let's get real. The only way to protect the president and the first family, White House guests, tourists and the thousands of government employees working in the area is to block Pennsylvania Avenue now and forever.

Car bombings happen, witness the World Trade Center and Oklahoma City. Maybe when its employees are sent to cover a car bombing, The Post will have a greater appreciation for their lethal effects. Of course, by then it will be too late.

FRANK D. BUCHHOLZ

Washington

All the reasons advanced in the recent barrage of columns, letters, etc., for the reopening of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House serve only to extend the tyranny of the automobile over the life of this city.

The most transparent non-reason touted is that of the cherished right of all Americans to take a quick passing gander at the White House while negotiating a stream of traffic.

So why not build a ramp off Independence Avenue so visitors could do a drive-by of the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Memorial without leaving the comfort of their vehicles?

The only trouble with that idea would be the attitude of some few recalcitrants who might want to gaze at Lincoln's countenance for a while or read some of the names on the Vietnam Memorial without being hurried along by some horn-blowing patriot behind them.

HUGH WHITTINGTON

Washington