Korean War Veterans Memorial
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Aerial view of the Korean War Veterans Memorial
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Location | SE of Lincoln Memorial, off Independence Ave., Washington DC |
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Coordinates | 38°53′16″N 77°2′50″W / 38.88778°N 77.04722°WCoordinates: 38°53′16″N 77°2′50″W / 38.88778°N 77.04722°W |
Area | 2.20 acres (0.89 ha) |
Visitation | 3,214,467 (2005) |
Website | Korean War Veterans Memorial |
NRHP Reference # | 01000273 |
Added to NRHP | July 27, 1995 |
The Korean War Veterans Memorial is located in Washington, D.C.'s West Potomac Park, southeast of the Lincoln Memorial and just south of the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall. It commemorates those who served in the Korean War.
The Korean War Veterans Memorial was confirmed by the U.S. Congress (Public Law 99-572) on October 28, 1986, with design and construction managed by the Korean War Veterans Memorial Advisory Board and the American Battle Monuments Commission.
The initial design competition was won in 1986 by a team of four architects from The Pennsylvania State University, but this team withdrew as it became clear that changes would be needed to satisfy the advisory board and reviewing agencies such as the Commission of Fine Arts. A federal court case was filed and lost over the design changes. The eventual design was by Cooper-Lecky Architects who oversaw collaboration between several designers.
President George H. W. Bush conducted the groundbreaking for the Memorial on June 14, 1993, Flag Day, and thus construction was started. The companies and organizations involved in the construction are listed on the memorial as: the Faith Construction Company, the Richard Sherman Company, the Cold Spring Granite Company, the Tallix Art Foundry and the Baltimore District of the US Army Corps of Engineers. The memorial was dedicated on July 27, 1995, the 42nd anniversary of the armistice that ended the war, by President Bill Clinton and Kim Young Sam, President of the Republic of Korea, to the men and women who served during the conflict. Management of the memorial was turned over to the National Park Service, under its National Mall and Memorial Parks group. As with all National Park Service historic areas, the memorial was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places on the day of its dedication.