Anyone else seen the FDR Memorial in DC?

[phillybri]

I saw it for the first time yesterday. What an absolutely amazing design and tribute to him and his wife...

I heard there was some controversy about the design and the details.

What's the deal with that?

[jeter]

1. I remember reading something

About his holding a cigarette. He was a chain smoker and the original monument had him holding a cigarette and they replaced it.

Or something like that.

[bif]

2. There was also some controversy about

him being in a wheelchair. It's pretty cool, gives you a decent feeling for the man. Some excellent quotes on the walls. Nicely done.

[phillybri]

3. The quotes gave me chills....

The contrast to Bush was staggering....:eyes:

[HawkerHurricane]

4. Wheelchair controversy

He avoided being seen in public in his wheelchair (part of his image); so some said he shouldn't be shown in one for his memorial.

[zoidberg]

5. It's really neat in the winter

When the waterfalls freeze over, it's even more amazing. There are a couple parts, like the faces in the columns, that I don't get - but over it was very nicely done. It doesn't have the postcard quality that Lincoln or Jefferson have, but it is still a must-see.

[Cheesehead]

6. I saw it for the first time a couple weeks ago

And it made by far the strongest impression of any of the memorials and monuments that I saw. Unfortunately, as a neophyte, I entered it from the "Jefferson" side and lost the chronology of the design. The power of the combination of statuary, water and words was incredible, and I look forward to visiting it again when I have more time to just absorb the atmosphere.

[theboss]

7. Been there/not a fan

But I've liked exactly one new piece of architecture in DC in the last thirty years - The Vietnam Veteran's Memorial. I think everything else is kinda crap. And I'm horrified by what the WWII Memorial is likely to end up being.

Anyway, my problems with FDR. 1. Don't like the maze quality. This is the trend that started with the Vietnam Memorial in that you have to "work your way through" it. It works with the wall because it is linear. I felt trapped inside the FDR Memorial. I like the sense of freedom you get inside the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials.

2. I hate the color. It is too somber for something praising a great man who saved a nation. (I have the opposite problem with the Holocaust Museum; I think it's too welcoming).

3. Too busy. Did it really need a statue of the dog?

4. The wheelchair. I'm as big an advocate for the disabled as anyway, but there is no way on God's green earth that FDR would have allowed himself to be memorialized in a wheelchair. He would have rubbed an unfiltered Camel out in the sculptor's eye.

[phillybri]

8. Thanks for the feedback....

I have to disagree with you on the "maze-like" quality, though.

My wife and I kept being pleasantly surprised with each following portion representing the 4 terms of his presidency. When we first got there, all we saw was the statue of him in his wheelchair. We were thinking "IS THAT IT???".

As we kept progressing, we were continually amazed by what each turn had in store. Great stuff.

[theboss]

14. I saw the point

I understood the intention of each turn revealing a new era in his presidency. But to me if felt too much like a funhouse. I love the Jefferson Monument where you stand in his presence with his words literally surrounding you while a gorgeous view of the country he helped create provides the back-drop. FDR's is claustrophobic to me, which is odd for the man whose presidency was so grand, progressive and universal.

But don't get me started on the horror that is the Reagan Center.

[wuushew]

9. Are they still planning on destroying the mall with the WW2 memorial?

For the sake of asthetics no new memorials should be built in D.C.

[phillybri]

11. I didn't see anything about that....

We were in a bit of a hurry, unfortunately.

The reflecting pool was totally drained though, I thought that was a little weird....

[theboss]

12. In response

Yes, the WWII Monument is going forward and yes, it is going to be in the middle of the Mall.

I disagree with you that there should be no more memorials. DC is not Rome; it should be evolving. And if any group deserves a memorial, it is the WWII vets. There are, after all, memorials to Vietnam and Korean vets. (The Korean Memorial is a poorly thought-out, underfunded mess by the way). And we certainly need to build it while some of the vets are still alive.

I am torn on it going in the middle of the Mall, however. On the one hand, the Mall was never meant to be static. On the other, it has become our national meeting room. Plus it is pretty. These days, I am leaning towards putting it on the Mall. WWII deserves a prime location and the Mall is not sacred. Hell, Brittany Spears danced there last month.

I am not thrilled with the design though. It's going to be really really busy like the rest of the modern monuments, excluding the wonderfully eloquent Vietnam Memorial Wall.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

13. World War II Memorial

The World War II Memorial Defaces a National Treasure

It sucks. I hate it. Albert Speer couldn't have done better himself.
The Nazis have won.

[tom_paine]

15. Ah, but DC IS Rome now...

Once the capitol of a Great Republic, now gleefully licking the boots of Caeser?

Sounds like DC to me. Sounds like Imperial Amerika to me...

[knight_of_the_star]

10. It had a big impact on me

But I kind of felt that it wasn't grand enough for such a great man. THomas Jefferson goit something impressive and magnificient, and while he wrote the Declaration of Independence, the only really great thing he did with his presidency was the Lousiana Purchase. FDR pulled hte country through the Depression all the way up to victory in WWII. I personally thought it should have been more like the temples they built for the other two monuments. It was a good memorial though, and it DOES do him justice.