Let it flood?

Walter Hood's proposal to let the monuments around the Tidal Basin slowly get inundated is remarkable: 

"Let the waters be free," writes Walter Hood in his proposal. "It could start with living in a wetland rather than draining it." Hood, whose Hood Design Studio is based in Oakland, Calif., also calls for "a prophetic aesthetic ... that is really telling the truth about a place."

And the image from Field Operations, in NPR's Landscape Architects Unveil Plans To Save The National Mall's Tidal Basin, is downright haunting.

Memorials

 

Graceland Cemetery

One day after I mention it in class, the Chicago Tribune exhorts readers to visit Graceland Cemetery. After reminding us that the entire cemetery is an arboreal wonderland sprinkled with amazing architecture, including several Louis Sullivan monuments, the columnist drops an exclamation mark on it with a closing sales pitch for the Burnham burial site.

As powerful as the Sullivan-designed monuments are, my favorite place at Graceland is not a work of architecture, but a piece of environmental design — the island in the lake where the architect and urban planner Daniel Burnham and his family are buried. You reach the island by crossing a narrow wood footbridge. It leads to an irregularly-shaped boulder that marks the resting place of Burnham and his wife Margaret.

A canopy of trees offers a sense of shelter, while the water surrounding the island adds a dose of serenity. The lakefront that Burnham championed as a great public space is closed to the public, but here, at least, the visitor can honor the visionary who did so much to create it.

Organ Pipe Cactus

I have no words.

Lincoln memorials

Vox is celebrating Lincoln's birthday by posting images of many of the failed proposals for the Lincoln Memorial. Had they built Pope's memorial on Meridian Hill, the whole city would be different.

"To hold its own with this monument, a Lincoln Memorial first must possess this vital quality of bigness and of dignity." - John Russell Pope

MLK Memorial

Today is a great day to reflect on the complicated histories of the MLK Memorial in Washington DC. It will get used heavily today, and may become a more popular site over the coming months.

The Lower Ninth Ward

Photos of the Lower Ninth Ward taken a few years after Katrina.

Kontos Memorial Kiosk

The Star-Ledger has provided some nice coverage of the work that Rick Lathrop and Brian Curry have undertaken to memorialize Charlie Kontos. Charlie was a great presence at CRSSA but most notable contribution was his research into the return of fishers to the northern forests of New Jersey.

9/11 Memorials around New Jersey

Woodbridge 9-11 Memorial


Wyckoff 9-11 Memorial


Allendale 9-11 Memorial


Bayonne 9-11 Memorial


Colts Neck 9-11 Memorial


A 9-11 Memorial from Chatham


Another 9-11 Memorial from Chatham


As an aside, these photos were all taken several years ago one of our students, Jenna Pauloski, who spent some time taking landscape photos for our NJ LA project. I have chosen to omit what I consider the very saddest of the memorials that she photographed (even though the competition for that title is stiff).

800,000 ceramic poppies

How much more do I have to write than just, 800,000 ceramic poppies?

Roy H. DeBoer

Roy H. DeBoer, FASLA, CLA # 00001
Professor Emeritus of Landscape Architecture

 May 7, 1933 - March 17, 2014

Feel free to post memories in the comments section.

Mandela memorial

The Washington Post has a photo of a fascinating Mandela memorial in Howick, South Africa.

JFK Memorials from around the world

View Larger Map

With this view from the JFK Memorial Bridge in Longport, NJ pause to recognize the 50th anniversary of that tragic day. Slate.com took the day to publish a map illustrating the spatial array of "all" the different JFK memorial schools, streets, plazas, etc. from around the world.

Finally I offer a couple photos of Kennedy's burial site in Arlington National Cemetery taken on Memorial Day Weekend.

Remember

This summer we had the chance to make a return visit to the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial. You can also see the original visit here.

Groundbreaking for Flight 93 Visitors Center

Today the National Park Service held the groundbreaking for the visitors center for the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, PA. It is another sign of progress, albeit slow, for the least visited of the three national 9/11 memorials. And presumably it will be nicer than the pre-fab building that was near the site when I last visited.

Woodbridge 9-11 Memorial


Wyckoff 9-11 Memorial


Allendale 9-11 Memorial


Bayonne 9-11 Memorial


Colts Neck 9-11 Memorial


A 9-11 Memorial from Chatham


Another 9-11 Memorial from Chatham


As an aside, these photos were all taken several years ago one of our students, Jenna Pauloski, who spent some time taking landscape photos for our NJ LA project. I have chosen to omit what I consider the very saddest of the memorials that she photographed (even though the competition for that title is stiff).