The National World War II Memorial in Washington, dedicated to the 16 million members of the U.S. military, will be closed for the next five months, the National Park Service said last week.
The agency said the closure is set to address “aging infrastructure, improve reliability, and enhance the appearance of the memorial.” Construction to modernize the fountains and lighting at the site is also planned.
Dedicated on Memorial Day weekend in 2004, the memorial stands at the heart of the National Mall and draws millions of visitors yearly.
Designed by Austrian immigrant Friedrich St. Florian, the memorial, a bronze and granite monument featuring facing semicircles of 56 pillars decorated with bronze wreaths and punctuated by two triumphal arches, was initially criticized.
While some said it fit well into the space on the Mall, others called it banal or evocative of fascist dictatorships, according to The New York Times.
Some critics even went as far as comparing it to the work of Hitler’s favorite architect, Albert Speer.
St. Florian, who grew up under Nazi rule as a child, pushed back.
“Wars must be remembered, not glorified,” he said.
“There is absolutely nothing imperial about this design,” he told The New York Times in 2000.
“The architecture is most appropriate, in the classical language. We did not want to go back and copy but to be interpreters,” he said.
The updates to the memorial follow President Donald Trump’s March executive order, “Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful,” saying the capital’s “monuments, museums, and buildings should reflect and inspire awe and appreciation for our Nation’s strength, greatness, and heritage.”
The memorial is to reopen by May 15, in time for Memorial Day.
Claire Barrett is an editor and military history correspondent for Military Times. She is also a World War II researcher with an unparalleled affinity for Sir Winston Churchill and Michigan football.
Read the full article here
