Federal Panel Rejects Ike Memorial Design

In July 2013 Frank Gehry's design for the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial in Washington, DC, was approved by the Memorial Commission a few months after a proposed bill would have scrapped the architect's design. Yet another hurdle in the continuing saga of the memorial happened last week when the National Capital Planning Commission voted 7-3 against the design, even though it has undergone a number of revisions to appease the Eisenhower family and other groups critical of Gehry's design. This latest decision sends the design back to Gehry for more revisions. The panel's main criticism, according to the New York Times, is that the memorial's "massive limestone columns would obstruct views of the nearby U.S. Capitol."