Is the tug-of-war between Frank Gehry and the opponents of his Eisenhower Memorial design finally over? A federal commission unanimously approved the newest Gehry design for the Memorial after he presented his editions. Those changes include the addition of a bronze and stone backdrop of the landing at Normandy behind the statue of Eisenhower as a General and a new image of him signing the Civil Rights Act of 1957 behind his Presidential statue. He has not wavered on keeping the tapestries of Ike's Kansas roots despite the protests of his family. However, at this point, the commissioners seem ready to just get the whole thing out of the way and over with before the generation that he led in World War II is gone. "The family deserves to be heard, but they do not deserve to be obeyed," says commission chair Rocco Siciliano. Apologies to the readers who thought the Smiths reunion would happen before the Memorial's completion.
· Frank Gehry's letter to Eisenhower Memorial Commissioners [Official Site]
· Gehry refines design for Eisenhower Memorial in DC [WTOP]
· All Eisenhower Memorial Coverage [CDC]
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