Monumentalism in Washington D.C.

For a change, I'm stepping away from the purely political to focus on art and architecture in Washington D.C. It so happens that Mrs. Lawhawk and myself went down to D.C. for a long needed respite from the daily grind. We took the opportunity to hike and drive all throughout the city and neighboring Arlington, Rosslyn, and Alexandria (all in 4 day weekend).

The itiniary included:
~ Thomas Jefferson Memorial
~ F.D.R. Memorial
~ Washington Memorial
~ Capitol Building exterior
~ Lincoln Memorial
~ Vietnam Veterans Memorial
~ W.W. II Memorial
~ White House exterior
~ Supreme Court (inside tour)
~ Arlington Nat'l Cemetery; including Tomb of the Unknowns and the J.F.K gravesite
~ Marine Corps Iwo Jima Memorial

Now, there are several distinct impressions on viewing all of the above. There is a difference between the iconic, the majestic, and the monumental. Sometimes a memorial or monument can be one of the three. Sometimes it can be all. Maybe it takes the test of time to determine whether it is one or the other. However, this is a subjective look and since this is my blog, I get to give my opinion on the matter.

The following are clearly iconic, majestic, and monumental:
The Capitol, White House, Supreme Court, Lincoln Memorial, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Washington Monument, and Iwo Jima Memorial.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is definitely iconic, and is monumental, but I think it lacks a certain majesty. Perhaps it is the minimalist style utilized by designer Maya Lin. Or, maybe it is that the memorial was so totally different from all the other monuments on the Mall that it defies conventional descriptions. Either way, I don't think it hits all three.

Now, there are two new memorials on the Mall that I saw firsthand this trip - the WWII Memorial and the FDR Memorial. The WWII Memorial is what most people typically associate with memorial design. It is conventional, harkening back to earlier monumnets and a definite move away from the minimalist design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It has a certain majesty to the site - the stars representing 1,000 soldiers and Marines killed fighting the war - the names of battles, the states, and the fountain as centerpiece. I think the memorial may yet become iconic, but I don't think it has reached that point. It hasn't quite gotten the visibility of the other memorials on the mall to reach that stage.

Then, there's the FDR Monument. It is certainly iconic - the design is distinctive, but it lacks a majesty and even monumentalism. The FDR Monument tries to be intimate and portray some of the complexities of our longest-serving President. However, the message was often overwhelmed by the constant use of water. Waterfalls marked major divisions within the memorial - time periods, events, etc. As with the WWII Memorial, it may still attain that iconic status over time.

I'll revisit some of these issues as I post photos from my trip.