Photo credit:National Capital Planning Commission
At its Oct. 5 meeting the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) approved revised preliminary and final site and building plans for the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial submitted by the National Park Service, on behalf of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission. The groundbreaking for the memorial took place on Thursday, Nov. 2. In its approval, NCPC confirmed that the submission continues to satisfy the site selection design principles it adopted in 2006 and that the revised tapestry image preserves views to the Lyndon B. Johnson Building (headquarters of the U.S. Department of Education). They further concluded that the revised image does not alter the tapestry material, panel welds, or fabrication methods. This completes NCPC’s review of the memorial that will honor Eisenhower’s role as America’s 34th president and as a military general.
The final submission contained four primary changes to the revised concept design reviewed by NCPC in February. The revised tapestry art now shows an abstract drawing of the Normandy cliffs with a focus on Point du Hoc. The refined design of the young Eisenhower statue was relocated from the promenade in front of the Johnson Building to the memorial’s northwest entry plaza. An adjacent inscription wall will contain President Eisenhower’s Abilene Homecoming Speech. Four trees previously proposed for removal are retained. The memorial will be located on a four-acre site between the Johnson Building and the National Air & Space Museum.