NCPC Commissioners “Puzzled” by Eisenhower Memorial Design Changes
CurbedDC reports: NCPC ‘puzzled’ by Eisenhower Memorial design changes, approves project anyway Further criticisms included that the new design is “confused, illegible, and weak” BY MICHELLE GOLDCHAIN FEB 2, 2017, 2:45PM EST This Thursday, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) reviewed three design modifications made to the planned Eisenhower Memorial, arrived at with the support … Read more
George Will: The Proposed Eisenhower Memorial Is a Monstrosity
George F. Will published the following column in the Washington Post: The Proposed Eisenhower Memorial Is a Monstrosity By George F. Will August 19, 2015 We could wearily shrug, say “Oh, well,” and economize waste and annoyance by just building the proposed $142 million Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial. But long after its perpetrators are gone, … Read more
Rep. Jason Chaffetz Expresses Qualms About Ike Memorial Design
Roll Call reports: CQ Roll Call has learned that in the three weeks since news of the leadership shakeup [of the Eisenhower Memorial Commission], the Eisenhower family has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill to reiterate their criticism about Gehry’s design and the process by which Gehry was selected. The former president’s granddaughters, Anne … Read more
Video of National Civic Art Society U.S. House Briefing on the Eisenhower Memorial
After 15 years and $40 million spent, Frank Gehry’s wildly unpopular design for the National Eisenhower Memorial is on life support. Not a shovel of dirt has been turned, Congress zeroed all construction funding, and the National Capital Planning Commission denied preliminary approval. Recently, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Environment voted to eliminate … Read more
National Civic Art Society to Host Capitol Hill Briefing on Ike Memorial on July 18
Event Details: The National Civic Art Society cordially invites you to a luncheon briefing on the planned National Eisenhower Memorial. The briefing will cover the status of the imperiled design by Frank Gehry and the alternatives before Congress. Lunch will be provided. Date: Friday, July 18, 2014 from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM (EDT) Location: The … Read more
Examiner: Uncertain Future Troubles Eisenhower Memorial Commission and its Insular Staff
From the Washington Examiner: Uncertain Future Troubles Eisenhower Memorial Commission and its Insular Staff BY LUKE ROSIAK | APRIL 15, 2014 AT 11:56 AM A federal planning group has delivered what could be a fatal blow to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission’s controversial design for honoring the former president and World War II hero. Nine full-time, taxpayer-funded employees and a board … Read more
Washington Post: Planning Commission Goes to War with Gehry Over Eisenhower Memorial
The Washington Post reports: Planning commission goes to war with Gehry Partners over Eisenhower Memorial design By Katherine Boyle, Published: April 3 The National Capital Planning Commission voted 7 to 3 to disapprove the design and building plans for the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial. The commission accepted the NCPC executive director’s recommendation that Gehry Partners’ design … Read more
AP: Federal Commission Rejects Frank Gehry’s Design for Eisenhower Memorial
The Associated Press reports: Panel Rejects Design for Eisenhower Memorial By BRETT ZONGKER — Apr. 3, 2014 6:30 PM EDT A federal commission that oversees plans for monuments in the nation’s capital voted Thursday to reject the current design for a memorial honoring President Dwight D. Eisenhower, sending the concept back to its architects for … Read more
Roll Call: It’s Time to Bury Frank Gehry’s Eisenhower Memorial
Originally published by Roll Call: It’s Time to Bury Frank Gehry’s Eisenhower Memorial | Commentary By Justin Shubow Feb. 3, 2014, 1:20 p.m. The Eisenhower Memorial is dead. Not the memorial itself, but the wildly unpopular design by Frank Gehry. The decisive blow is Congress’ 2014 budget, which denied the $49 million in construction funds … Read more
Roll Call: Eisenhower Memorial Stuck in Neutral
Roll Call reports: Eisenhower Memorial Stuck in Neutral By Hannah Hess Roll Call Staff Nov. 25, 2013, 3:55 p.m. It’s been 14 years since Congress determined that a memorial to President Dwight D. Eisenhower was needed, but the question of how to do right by Ike continues to confound. An urban park, dreamed up by … Read more
Roll Call & Washington Post: Eisenhower Commission Suffers Another Huge Setback; Memorial Further Delayed
At the last second, the Eisenhower Memorial Commission withdrew the Memorial from the September meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission, a federal agency that has yet to give the project preliminary approval. The Eisenhower Commission pulled out at the last second because the NCPC’s official Executive Director Recommendation devastatingly denied approving the design. You … Read more
*** President Obama Appoints National Civic Art Society Advisor Bruce Cole to Eisenhower Memorial Commission ***
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 3, 2013 CONTACT: [email protected] or (202) 670-1776 President Obama Appoints National Civic Art Society Advisor Bruce Cole to Eisenhower Memorial Commission The National Civic Art Society applauds President Barack Obama for appointing Bruce Cole to the Commission overseeing the construction of the National Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial. Cole has strongly opposed Frank … Read more
Eisenhower Memorial Design Receives Major Setback as National Capital Planning Commission Delays Review Again
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 15, 2013 CONTACT: [email protected] or (202) 670-1776 Eisenhower Memorial Design Receives Major Setback as National Capital Planning Commission Again Delays Review In another resounding setback for Frank Gehry’s Eisenhower Memorial, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) yet again has delayed its review of the proposed avant-garde design. The Eisenhower Memorial Commission … 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
***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
Eisenhower Memorial Materials Testing Suggests it Is Impermanent and a Trap for Debris
A study which has since disappeared from the National Capital Planning Commission’s website concludes that materials for the Dwight D. Eisenhower memorial may be impermanent and a trap for unsightly debris. The law requires that the Eisenhower Memorial be permanent and durable. The National Civic Art Society has republished the missing report at http://www.eisenhowermemorial.net/docs/NCPC_eisenhower_memorial_tapestry_testing.pdf [24 … Read more
Boston Globe’s Architecture Critic: Eisenhower Memorial Design Should Be Scrubbed
Robert Campbell, the Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic for the Boston Globe, wrote a hard-hitting article detailing numerous irredemiable flaws in Frank Gehry’s avant-garde design for the Eisenhower Memorial. It’s way too big. It’s too cartoony. Someone should scrub the design and start over. It’s the proposal for a memorial to Dwight Eisenhower, the World War … Read more
Roll Call: Eisenhower Memorial Complaints Reach Fever Pitch
Roll Call reports (and the Huffington Post republishes): Eisenhower Memorial Complaints Reach Fever Pitch By Emma Dumain Roll Call Staff May 31, 2012, 7:15 p.m. Rep. Darrell Issa says he will withhold his support for the Eisenhower Memorial design should the commission go ahead with its July 12 meeting with the National Capital Planning Commission. Opposition … Read more
Weekly Standard: Gehry’s Ike Memorial Is “Appalling”
In The Weekly Standard, Andrew Ferguson demolishes the planned design for the Eisenhower Memorial: Re-Gendered Ike Andrew Ferguson March 12, 2012, Vol. 17, No. 25 Last week the chairman of the House administration committee, Dan Lungren of California, sent a letter to the National Capital Planning Commission, one of the many administrative bodies charged with safeguarding … 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