Eisenhower as a Barefoot Boy? Family Objects to a Memorial http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/07/arts/design/eisenhower-memorial-by-frank-gehry-draws-objections-from-family.html Gehry's design for Eisenhower memorial misses the mark http://www.washingtonpost.com/realestate/gehrys-design-for-eisenhower-memorial-misses-the-mark/2012/01/23/gIQAy22jVQ_story.html A Q&A With Susan Eisenhower About the Fight Over Her Grandfather's Memorial http://www.washingtonian.com/blogarticles/people/capitalcomment/22381.html In Defense of Frank Gehry http://www.washingtonian.com/blogarticles/people/capitalcomment/22617.html Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission http://eisenhowermemorial.org/ U.S. Commission of Fine Arts http://www.cfa.gov/ Memorials to great men and women can be controversial affairs, and the recent dispute over the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC serves as a reminder of such issues. Another planned memorial is coming under close scrutiny, and once again, the proverbial battleground is in the United States capital. Over the past couple of years, the noted designer and architect Frank Gehry has been working on the design for the memorial to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and the groundbreaking is scheduled to take place this year on the Washington Mall. The current design features Eisenhower as a young boy in Kansas looking at some of his later accomplishments, with a backdrop of the plains of the Sunflower State. These proposed plans do not sit well with some, including his granddaughter, Susan Eisenhower, and the National Civic Art Society, which remarked that "The statue of Ike as a Kansas farmer-boy mocks the president as cornpone in chief, the supreme allied bumpkin." In January, members of the Eisenhower family made their concerns about the design public, and it remains to be seen whether there might be an extension of the comment period regarding the memorial. The preliminary design has already been approved by the United States Commission of Fine Arts, but it must also be approved by the National Capital Planning Commission. As of this writing, Frank Gehry had yet to offer comment on this recent turn of events and public discussion. The first link leads to a nice article from this Tuesday's New York Times about the proposed memorial to President Eisenhower. The second link will take users to a piece of architectural criticism by Roger K. Lewis, published in the Washington Post. Moving on, the third link will take interested parties to an interview with Susan Eisenhower about the memorial to her grandfather. The fourth link leads to follow-up exchange with Daniel J. Feil, the executive architect for the Eisenhower Memorial Commission over the past six years. The fifth link leads to the website of the Eisenhower Memorial Commission. Here visitors can learn about the commission, the designs for the proposed memorial, and also read press releases. The final link will take visitors to the homepage of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, where they can learn about the work of the Commission and the ways in which the Commission gives expert advice on "matters of design and aesthetics."