I do not understand why the Eisenhower family has the right to declare this memorial not appropriate. Family ties are not vested with divine guidance. Their opinion should not count any more than mine but I defer to the committee that approved it. I also think it is a tremendous step forward in memorializing a president's life. It would be a great addition to Washington, again in my opinion.
This process has gone on a long time through various revues which approved it. That does not mean that it cannot be reviewed by a wider public, but in America today, negativity rules. In no way does this demean his life but in fact glorifies it but in a more intelligent way with a visual explanation not usually seen. So what if it may be different than we have seen before. Must we have to have memorials based on the way they were done a hundred years earlier?
The Roosevelt memorial designed by Louis Kahn is a different memorial but no less impressive. But Roosevelt and Eisenhower were very different people from extremely different backgrounds. Each made important contributions to America but in different ways. Their memorials should be different.
You are lucky, in today's America, if you get 51% approval on any issue. The other 49% will be opposed to this or anything that looks different. It is approved and was created by a talented architect. Just build it.
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Jerry Kler AIA
Jerry Kler & Associates
Sausalito CA
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