frank gehry-designed eisenhower memorial opens in washington DC

the dwight d. eisenhower memorial, designed by frank gehry, has opened to the public in washington DC. the project, originally commissioned in 1999, honors the legacy of the world war II supreme allied commander and the 34th president of the united states. the memorial is located in a newly created, four-acre public park adjacent to the national mall and across the street from the smithsonian national air and space museum.

image by alan karchmer, courtesy of the eisenhower memorial commission (also main image)

the opening of the memorial marks the culmination of years of work by the eisenhower memorial commission and its chairman senator pat roberts (kansas), memorial architect frank gehry, and the designers, artists, construction teams that brought the memorial project from vision to reality. gehry’s design is described as ‘a combination of grand architectural elements, sculpture and green space,’ which highlight eisenhower’s life.

image by alan karchmer, courtesy of the eisenhower memorial commission

the memorial features three bronze sculptures of eisenhower by sergey eylanbekov, stone bas relief images, and words from notable eisenhower addresses inscribed on panels by nick benson. framing the entire park and memorial is a first-of-its-kind stainless steel woven tapestry by artist tomas osinski, which depicts the cliffs at pointe du hoc on the normandy coastline in peacetime.

image courtesy of the eisenhower memorial commission

‘this memorial pays tribute to ike’s historic leadership as both supreme allied commander and the 34th president of the united states, who hailed from abilene, kansas,’ says senator pat roberts, chairman of the eisenhower memorial commission. ‘the eisenhower memorial not only commemorates the life and legacy of an extraordinary man; it also stands as a symbol for all generations of the promise of america and what our values make possible here and around the world.’

image by alan karchmer, courtesy of the eisenhower memorial commission

‘this project has been an enormous honor for me both professionally and personally,’ says frank gehry. ‘I was 16 years old when eisenhower defeated the nazis and led america to victory in WWII. I had lost 33 members of my family in the camps, so his victory was all the more meaningful to me. his leadership in peacetime was as inspiring. he led the country with strength, but also with great humanity and humility. I hope that these values are captured in the memorial, and that it will be a place to honor and to learn from one of the greatest heroes that the world has ever known.’ see designboom previous coverage of the project here.

image courtesy of the eisenhower memorial commission