Fort Monroe Forward

Join us for an evening of bold ideas to inspire a historic site’s next chapter.

We invite you to think big.

Just as Fort Monroe itself is not like any other place, Fort Monroe Forward is designed to be unlike any other experience: lively yet thoughtful, unfinished yet high-design, and rooted in the inherent genius of this place.

October 23, 2025

Doors open — 5:30pm

Presentations — 6:30pm

The Wharf

104 McNair Drive

Fort Monroe, VA 23651

Meet the Moderator

Charles A. Birnbaum, FASLA, FAAR, Founder, president, and CEO of The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF)

We are honored to welcome Charles A. Birnbaum. A nationally recognized leader in landscape preservation, Birnbaum created the groundbreaking What’s Out There database and the Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize. He is the author or editor of influential books including Experiencing Olmsted, Shaping the Postwar Landscape, and Design with Culture, and his work has been recognized with the ASLA Medal, the Rome Prize, and other prestigious awards. Read More >

Meet the Presenting Design Firms

“Make no little plans.

They have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized.

Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency.

Think big.”

Daniel Burnham, architect and urban designer

Join a community of leaders driving bold ideas for Fort Monroe.