Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial
| Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial (proposed) | |
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IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
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| Location | District of Columbia, USA |
| Nearest city | Washington, D.C. |
| Coordinates | 38°53′14″N 77°1′10″W / 38.88722°N 77.01944°WCoordinates: 38°53′14″N 77°1′10″W / 38.88722°N 77.01944°W |
| Established | pending |
| Governing body | Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission |
The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial is a proposed United States presidential memorial to be constructed for Dwight D. Eisenhower the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II and the 34th President of the United States.
On October 25, 1999, the United States Congress created the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission under Public Law 106-79. The law states that “… an appropriate permanent memorial to Dwight D. Eisenhower should be created to perpetuate his memory and his contributions to the United States.” The Commission
The commission consists of 12 appointed commissioners.
Four members appointed by the President of the United States:
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- Alfred Geduldig (New York, NY)
- Susan Banes Harris (Potomac, MD)
- Rocco C. Siciliano (Beverly Hills, CA) - Chairman
- One Appointment Pending
Four members appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate:
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- Daniel K. Inouye (D/Hawaii) – Vice Chairman
- Jerry Moran (R/Kansas)
- Jack Reed (D/Rhode Island)
- Pat Roberts (R/Kansas)
Four members appointed by the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives:
Chairman Rocco Siciliano is a World War II combat-decorated infantry veteran who served as Special Assistant to President Eisenhower for Personnel Management. Vice Chairman Senator Inouye is a World War II Medal of Honor recipient for valor, and has continuously represented Hawaii in the United States Congress since President Eisenhower signed its statehood into law in 1959
Site Selection
Public Law 107-117 (January 10, 2002) authorized the commission to establish the memorial on lands under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of the Interior. Once established the Eisenhower Memorial will fall under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. The Eisenhower Memorial will be only the seventh national presidential memorial in U.S. history.[1]
A total of 26 sites were identified to the Eisenhower Memorial Commission (EMC) and reviewed during its three-year site selection process. The criteria for choosing a site for the memorial included:
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- 1) Prominence, public access, and availability.
- 2) Thematic appropriateness to Eisenhower’s memory.
- 3) Feasibility of use and avoidance of undue controversy.
The commission selected a preferred site, Eisenhower Square, at the base of Capitol Hill, across Independence Avenue from the National Air and Space Museum and north of the United States Department of Education. Eisenhower Square is surrounded by institutions connected to Eisenhower’s legacy including the United States Department of Education, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the Federal Aviation Administration, Voice of America, and the National Air and Space Museum.
On November 8, 2005, the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission approved the Eisenhower Memorial Commission's request that the Eisenhower Memorial be located across the street from the National Air and Space Museum just a few blocks from the United States Capitol.
Design Competition
The Eisenhower Memorial Commission (EMC) contracted for professional architectural and engineering design services through the General Services Administration (GSA).
On March 31, 2009, architect Frank Gehry was announced as the lead designer of the Eisenhower Memorial after a closed competition that solicited 44 entries.[2]
Design Development
On March 25, 2010, the Eisenhower Memorial Commission unanimously selected the preferred design concept created by Frank O. Gehry and the commission and design team completed its first round of meetings with federal review agencies.
Maryland Avenue runs through the site with a vista that focuses on the U.S. Capitol Building. From the site, visitors will experience a dramatic view.
The setting for the memorial will be framed by transparent woven metal tapestries. Made of woven metal and supported by 80-foot-tall columns. The images on the tapestry depict the plains of the American Midwest. Elements of Eisenhower’s home in Abilene, Kansas are included.
Two 10 x 15 ft. tapestry mock-ups hung outside the U.S. Department of Education (DoEd) Building in late August/early September received very high praise.
Gehry’s tapestry design received unanimous approval from United States Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) on September 15, 2011, including affirmation that the scale and artistry are appropriate.[3] The Department of Education originally questioned the tapestries. However, following revisions and meetings including the review of tapestry mock-ups, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan wrote that the U.S. Department of Education is “…supportive of the memorial design as it now stands”. The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) also expressed support for the design. The Architect of the Capitol has endorsed Gehry’s design revision, and “applauds the decision, courage, and commitment of time” that the design team has given to the Section 106 Consultation Meeting process, noting that there are no negative impacts on the view and vista of the U.S. Capitol.
The commission's preferred design concept approved in March 2010, which included Commissioner David Eisenhower's approval (Dwight Eisenhower's grandson), represents Eisenhower as president and general through heroic-sized stone bas reliefs and text (Guildhall Address and Farewell Address), similar to the Lincoln Memorial. Although final images and quotations are still under consideration, the leading alternative image representing the general is General Eisenhower with 101st Airborne troops prior to the D-Day invasion in June 1944. The leading alternative image representing the president is by photographer Yousuf Karsh, titled "“The Elder Statesman”" (1966), featuring President Eisenhower at his Gettysburg farm.
The commission sought preliminary design approval from NCPC in early 2012. The design phase will conclude with the preparation of construction documents, which will be put out for public bidding in mid-2012. The commission will proceed with groundbreaking in Fall of 2012.
E-Memorial
The National Eisenhower Memorial will be the first national presidential memorial of the 21st Century and the first to incorporate an electronic companion memorial. The e-memorial consists of an on-site component and an off-site (website) component. The on-site e-memorial uses wireless technology and personal mobile devices to provide interactive enhancement for the physical memorial and the electronic interpretation of the memorial’s themes. A downloadable mobile device application will enable visitors to view historical footage, speeches, and events in the context of the physical memorial through augmented reality. The off-site component is web-based and provides further information on and interpretation of Eisenhower’s legacy, including links to the six legacy organizations and information about their programs. Both components are flexible enough to be updated as the Eisenhower legacy continues to be interpreted.
The e-memorial provides an innovative and technologically advanced way for a contemporary audience to understand a memorial dedicated to a president whose legacy will reach far into the future. .
The e-memorial will be completed and dedicated with the physical memorial on Memorial Day 2015.
Funding
As with previous presidential memorials, the Eisenhower Memorial Commission received federal funding to begin the construction in 2012.
The Eisenhower Memorial Commission is working with fundraising firms Odell, Simms, and Lynch (OSL) and The Webster Group to engage with the public to obtain donations for memorial construction.
The commission plans to open the Memorial on Memorial Day, May 25, 2015, the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Recent News
In response to public criticism of Frank Gehry's concept, the National Civic Art Society, of Washington, D.C., launched a counterproposal competition in the spring of 2011.[4]
In December 2011, David Eisenhower resigned from the Eisenhower Memorial Commission.[5] As the family's representative, Commissioner Eisenhower voted three times in favor of the preferred design concept, including most recently at the July 2011 Commission meeting [6].
In January 2012, the National Civic Art Society launched a website called "The Truth About the Eisenhower Memorial," where it published a book-length report critical of the planning and design of the memorial.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ "Eisenhower National Memorial Homepage". Eisenhower Memorial Commission. 2010-03-25. http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
- ^ "Frank Gehry Selected to Design Eisenhower National Memorial". Eisenhower Memorial Commission. 2009-03-31. http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/20090331PressRelease.htm. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
- ^ http://www.cfa.gov/meetings/2011/sep/20110915min.html
- ^ "Honoring Ike — and adding appropriately to the nation’s capital". New Urban News Network. 2011-03-10. http://newurbannetwork.com/article/honoring-ike-%E2%80%94-and-adding-appropriately-nation%E2%80%99s-capital-14282. Retrieved 2011-03-11.
- ^ "Eisenhower’s granddaughters critical of Gehry’s memorial design". The Washington Post. 2011-12-16. http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/eisenhowers-granddaughters-critical-of-gehrys-memorial-design/2011/12/13/gIQAPhSayO_story.html. Retrieved 2011-01-24.
- ^ "Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission Meeting Minutes July 12, 2011". 2011-07-12. http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/userfiles/file/110718_EMC%20Draft%20Minutes%20July%202011_Draft%207_110728.pdf. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
- ^ [http://dailycaller.com/2012/01/24/eisenhower-family-objects-to-expensive-garish-dc-monument/ "January 24, 2012 Eisenhower family objects to expensive, garish DC monument"]. Daily Caller. 2012-01-24. http://dailycaller.com/2012/01/24/eisenhower-family-objects-to-expensive-garish-dc-monument/. Retrieved 2012-01-24.
[edit] External links
- Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission
- Public Law 106-79
- Public Law 107-117
- The Truth About the Eisenhower Memorial
