4 New Memorials In The Works Across D.C.
Tourists from around the world flock to D.C. each summer to see the city's iconic tributes to American history, taking pictures on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, walking around the fountain of the World War II Memorial and visiting countless others.
Those tourists, and the city's residents, will soon have at least four new memorials to visit, honoring those who fought in conflicts from World War I to the Global War on Terror. To celebrate Memorial Day, Bisnow took a closer look at four memorials in the works in the nation's capital.
Dwight Eisenhower Memorial
The nation's 34th president and legendary World War II Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower will be honored with a memorial just south of the National Mall. Designed by Frank Gehry, it will feature a stainless steel tapestry depicting the beaches of D-Day, several bronze statues and famous quotes around a 4-acre park.
The $150M project had been in planning for over a decade and finally broke ground in November. It will be located along Independence Avenue bounded by Fourth and Sixth streets SW, across the street from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
Congress approved $45M in funding for the memorial, enough to start construction, in May 2017. The General Services Administration then awarded Clark Construction the contract to build the memorial in August.
National World War I Memorial
One hundred years after the end of World War I, D.C. will soon have a national memorial to honor the 4.7 million men and women who served and 116,516 who died in the war.
The National Park Service in July 2016 approved the memorial's location at Pershing Park, a 1.75-acre site on Pennsylvania Avenue between 14th and 15th streets NW. Organizers held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the memorial in November and hope to celebrate its dedication this year to mark the war's centennial.
The memorial will feature a 65-foot-long sculptural wall depicting soldiers in battle and a public walkway surrounded by water. It is expected to cost up to $40M, with around $12M of that coming from private donations.
National Desert Storm War Memorial
Congress and President Donald Trump in March 2017 approved the National Desert Storm War Memorial. Scheduled to be built by 2021, the memorial will honor the 500,000 U.S. military members who served supporting Operation Desert Storm and Operation Desert Shield in 1990 and 1991.
The group spearheading the memorial's creation has identified its preferred site at Constitution Avenue and 23rd Street NW. The site received support from the National Capital Planning Commission and the National Park Service, but is still awaiting final approval from the Commission of Fine Arts. One alternate location, which the CFA has previously expressed its support for, would be along the Potomac River just south of the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge.
The memorial's design is also still being finalized, and the National Park Service in March held a public meeting to discuss the proposed design, followed by a 30-day comment period. CSO Architects and Context Landscape Architecture have worked to design the memorial.
Global War On Terror Memorial
The 1986 Commemorative Works Act requires a 10-year waiting period after the end of a military conflict before the construction of a memorial in the nation's capital, but Congress and President Donald Trump in August approved an exemption for the Global War on Terror Memorial.
The bill did not designate a site for the memorial, but said it would be on federal land in D.C. The nonprofit Global War on Terror Memorial Foundation will oversee the project and raise funds. The group in April named 21-year U.S. Army veteran Michael Rodriguez as its director, and its advisory board includes retired U.S. Army generals David H. Petraeus and George W. Casey Jr.
In addition to soliciting donations, the group is selling a variety of shirts and accessories featuring its logo. It hopes to have the memorial built by 2024.
