It’s been 15 years since a federal commission began planning a memorial in the nation’s capital to Dwight Eisenhower. That’s nearly twice as long as his presidency.
Yet, as a new congressional report discloses, after $41 million in taxpayer funds, instead of a memorial we have mismanagement, skyrocketing cost overruns and a design process flawed from the outset.
New Yorkers know the feeling. The same architect at the heart of the Ike memorial, Frank Gehry, is the guy who first designed Ground Zero’s now-stalled Performing Arts Center. Meanwhile, his fellow star architect, Santiago Calatrava, gave us the nearby PATH station boondoggle that came in years behind schedule and, at $4 billion, double the original price tag.
Ike’s memorial has its own problems. Gehry’s design, for example, ignores Ike’s achievements as both general and president, focusing instead on his description of himself as “a barefoot boy from Kansas.”
After Eisenhower’s family objected, Gehry — who’s already been paid $16.4 million — modified his design. Yet there is still no construction-ready approved plan. In fact, construction is actually barred until all necessary funding is in hand.
Which raises an unresolved question: Will taxpayers end up with the bill?
Certainly, Ike deserves enshrinement along with such immortals as Washington and Lincoln. But Eisenhower doesn’t need a memorial for a legacy. His legacy is all around us, in those lives lived in freedom because he defeated Hitler and brought a truce to Korea.
Pity that a memorial in his name would obscure rather than enhance these historic achievements.