WASHINGTON — A much-criticized design for a monument to honor President Dwight D. Eisenhower passed a key hurdle Thursday after getting preliminary approval from a federal agency, paving the way for builders to seek funding from Congress for the $142 million project.
The National Capital Planning Commission voted 10-1 to approve a pared-down version of the design by renowned architect Frank Gehry. The modified design removed two stainless-steel mesh tapestries and left two freestanding columns that anchor the corners of the 4-acre urban park within view of Capitol Hill.
However, several members expressed concern with the columns, calling them massive, vestigial design elements. Still, after debate, the commission approved the concept, which is a key step for the long-delayed effort to honor the WWII general and two-term president.
The current design keeps a large steel mesh tapestry strung across 80-foot columns that depicts the rural landscape of Abilene, Kansas, where Eisenhower grew up, and includes bas-relief sculptures and statues of Eisenhower both as a general and a young boy. Quotes and text from his speeches will be engraved in limestone blocks.
The Eisenhower Memorial Commission, which has been tasked with building the memorial, will still need to get the newly-edited design reviewed by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and eventually get final approval from the NCPC.
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