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Every large monument built in the history of Washington has been hated by architecture critics. Lincoln was too imposing. Vietnam too modern. FDR too small. As expected, the national memorial to World War II has proven itself no different. To many critics the location at the heart of the Mall on a site not originally planned for a monument has been enough to condemn it. In a throwback to old school modernism, others have decried the classicist design as reminiscent of Nazi architecture (a common theme regarding any classical building for proponents of modernism). Still others deride the lively fountain area as too fun, where solemn commemoration would be more appropriate. BeyondDC thinks they're all wrong. Though we have always favored a classicist design over anything avant-garde that would find itself obsolete in a few years, we visited the new monument with serious reservations about its location. To our pleasant surprise we found it fits lovingly in to the surrounding park and adds, rather than detracts from the Mall experience. As for the lively fountain. We like that most of all. What better monument to the war against fascism than an expression of freedom? |
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