The Eisenhower Memorial Commission received its first stamp of approval to establish a standing tribute to President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Washington D.C.
The National Capital Planning Commission voted 10-1 in favor of architect Frank Gehry's revised design for the memorial, according to The Wichita Eagle. The vote is step one of a two-stage approval process and the planning commission will take another final vote before the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts reviews the design.
"This is an important milestone for our commission and for those who have been engaged in this project over the last decade," said Rocco Siciliano, a former member of Eisenhower's administration, who has led the Memorial Commission since its 2001 inception. "We all look forward to the next steps that will keep the memorial moving forward."
Gehry's original design faced strong opposition from Congress and the Eisenhower family due its "grandiose" nature, according to the Eagle. Congress cut all funding for the project because so many key supporters panned the design proposal. The Memorial Commission also lost a couple of its key senator members over the last month.
The proposed sight of the memorial sits at the base of Capitol Hill, across from the National Air and Space Museum and north of the U.S. Department of Education building. Gehry agreed to remove two metal tapestries from the design that the planning commission claimed blocked sight lines of the U.S. Capitol on Maryland Ave, according to the Eagle.
The plan still includes two standalone pillars and a large tapestry running alongside the memorial. Three statues of Eisenhower will feature the man as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in World War II, President of the United States and as a young military cadet at West Point.
"Like anyone who might be chose for such a commission, I have felt humbled to be working on the memorial for Dwight D. Eisenhower, one of the towering figures of the 20th century, whom I deeply admire as a president, a general and a man," Gehry said in a statement.
Eisenhower served as president from 1953 to 1961. President Bill Clinton approved legislation to rename the Old Executive Office Building, which houses the vice president's office, as the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Eisenhower's presidential library is located in his boyhood home of Abilene, Kansas.
