National Civic Art Society Launches Investigation Into Secretive Eisenhower Memorial Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 6, 2013 CONTACT: [email protected] or (202) 670-1776 National Civic Art Society Launches Investigation Into Secretive Eisenhower Memorial Competition To investigate what many believe to have been a rigged process, the National Civic Art Society today filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request [PDF available here] to the General Services Administration … Read more
NCAS Slams Ike Memorial at Fine Arts Commission, Says Central Statue Belongs in a Snow-globe
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 22, 2013 CONTACT: [email protected] or (202) 670-1776 National Civic Art Society Slams Ike Memorial at Fine Arts Commission, Says Central Statue Belongs in a Snow-globe On Thursday, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts–the federal agency tasked with protecting the aesthetics of the National Mall–took up the planned National Eisenhower Memorial. (For news stories on the event, … Read more
National Civic Art Society Testifies in Congress in Favor of a New Eisenhower Memorial Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 10, 2013 CONTACT: [email protected] or (202) 670-1776 On Tuesday March 19th, National Civic Art Society President Justin Shubow testified before the House Subcommittee on Public Lands on a proposed bill for a new competition for the National Memorial to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, now estimated to cost $142 million. The proposed … Read more
Ike Memorial Design Testing Shows Govt. Materials Experts Have Serious Concerns About Durability and Cleanliness
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 12, 2013 CONTACT: [email protected] or (202) 670-1776 [See also the press release on an earlier NCPC technical report here.] Eisenhower Memorial Design Testing Shows Government Materials Experts Have Serious Concerns About the Memorial’s Durability and Cleanliness The National Capital Planning Commission today released the latest technical report on the planned national … Read more
National Civic Art Society Decries Manipulated Images in Eisenhower Memorial Marketing Campaign
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 7, 2013 CONTACT: [email protected] or (202) 670-1776 National Civic Art Society Decries Manipulated Images in Eisenhower Memorial Marketing Campaign Desperate for public support for the highly unpopular design of the National Eisenhower Memorial, the Eisenhower Memorial Commission has launched a website called “Ike 2012” (http://www.iLikeIke2012.com). A mock presidential campaign, it pretends that the former president is … Read more
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: Ike Memorial Is Postmodern and Meaningless
Paul Greenberg, the Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial page editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, writes: I Like Ike LITTLE ROCK — Ordinarily, the news that a long overdue memorial to an historic American leader has been put on hold still again would come as a disappointment. But if you’ve seen the innocuous design for an Eisenhower memorial in the nation’s … Read more
***Senator Inouye Questions How Ike Memorial Can Go Forward Over Eisenhower Family Opposition***
In major news, Senator Daniel Inouye, vice chairman of the Eisenhower Memorial Commission, has questioned whether Frank Gehry’s $142 million avant-garde design can go forward over opposition from the entire Eisenhower family. (Sen. Iouye’s full letter can be found here.) That opposition includes a recent letter by John S.D. Eisenhower, the former president’s son and … Read more
***HOUSE CUTS OFF ALL 2013 FUNDING FROM EISENHOWER MEMORIAL***
Roll Call reports: Eisenhower Memorial Cut Off From New Funds in Spending Draft By Emma Dumain Roll Call Staff June 19, 2012, 7:01 p.m. The Eisenhower Memorial Commission would not receive any new funds in fiscal 2013 under a draft bill unveiled Tuesday from the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies. Opponents … Read more
Eisenhower Memorial Commission Responds to Questions from House Subcommittee
On March 20, 2012, the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands of the House Committee on Natural Resources held a historic hearing about Frank Gehry’s proposed design for the Eisenhower Memorial. Howard Segermark, chairman emeritus of the National Civic Art Society, testified against the design and the process that selected it. (His remarks can … Read more
Politico: GSA Role in Ike Memorial Scrutinized
Politico published an excellent overview of the latest Eisenhower Memorial controversy: GSA Role in Ike Memorial Scrutinized By: Puja Murgai April 17, 2012 11:20 PM EDT As Congress’s inquiry into the General Services Administration’s conference spending heats up, critics of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial design are questioning whether there was fancy footwork in choosing … Read more
Architectural Record: “Will the Frank Gehry-Designed Ike Memorial Ever Get Built?”
Architectural Record, perhaps the most influential magazine in the field, published an article on the growing opposition to Frank Gehry’s Eisenhower Memorial: A Monumental Debate April 16, 2012 Will the Frank Gehry-designed Ike Memorial ever get built? By Ben Adler For an architect, no commission is more troublesome than creating a national memorial. Frank Gehry is … Read more
National Civic Art Society Testifies at Eisenhower Memorial Congressional Hearing
On March 20, 2012, the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands of the House Committee on Natural Resources held a historic hearing about Frank Gehry’s proposed design for the Eisenhower Memorial. Howard Segermark, chairman emeritus of the National Civic Art Society, testified against the design and the process that selected it. (See below for … Read more
Darrell Issa Investigates Eisenhower Memorial Competition, Calls for Delaying Design Approval
Congressman Darrell Issa, chairman of the powerful House Oversight Committee, has begun investigating the “competition” that selected Frank Gehry to design the Eisenhower Memorial. In a letter to the Eisenhower Memorial Commission, he requested a copy of all architecture designs submitted in the “competition,” and a detailed description of the “competition” process, including a breakdown … Read more
NCAS Publishes Shocking Photos of Eisenhower Memorial “Tapestry,” a Rat’s Nest of Tangled Steel
The National Civic Art Society today published shocking photos — full-size images available here — of mockups of the giant industrial steel “tapestries” planned for the Eisenhower Memorial. (The main “tapestry” — a veritable “Eisen Curtain” — is so large it will dwarf the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles.) The source of the photos is … Read more
American Spectator: “Design for the Eisenhower Memorial … an Insult to All Concerned”
The American Spectator magazine published a scathing critique of the planned memorial to President Eisenhower: A Monstrosity, Not a Monument Frank Gehry’s design for the Eisenhower Memorial in Washington is an insult to all concerned. By Tom Bethell . . . The architect chosen to design the memorial is Frank Gehry and you surely have … Read more
Susan Eisenhower Rebuts Eisenhower Memorial Commission’s Executive Architect
Susan Eisenhower has written another important commentary (www.susaneisenhower.com) about the ghastly planned memorial to her grandfather. She responds to various claims made by Dan Feil, the Eisenhower Memorial Commission’s executive architect.
Daily Caller: Eisenhower Family Objects to Expensive, Garish D.C. Monument
The Daily Caller published a hard-hitting news story on the opposition to Frank Gehry’s ghastly design for the Eisenhower Memorial: The family of the late Dwight Eisenhower has come out against a planned memorial to the former president that they believe is inappropriate, unsustainable and not in keeping with his wishes. Plans for the memorial, … Read more