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On July 1, 1980, a site covering two acres next to the [[Lincoln Memorial]] was chosen and authorized by [[United States Congress|Congress]]<ref name="dupre"/> where the [[World War I]] [[Munitions Building]] previously stood. Congress announced that the winner of a [[design competition]] would design the park. By the end of the year 2,573 registered for the design competition with a prize of $20,000. On March 30, 1981, 1,421 designs were submitted. The designs were displayed at an airport hangar at [[Andrews Air Force Base]] for the selection committee, in rows covering more than {{convert|35000|sqft|m2}} of floor space. Each entry was identified by number only. All entries were examined by each juror; the entries were narrowed down to 232, then to 39. Finally, the jury selected entry number 1026, which had been designed by [[Maya Lin]].<ref name="vvmf.org" /> |
On July 1, 1980, a site covering two acres next to the [[Lincoln Memorial]] was chosen and authorized by [[United States Congress|Congress]]<ref name="dupre"/> where the [[World War I]] [[Munitions Building]] previously stood. Congress announced that the winner of a [[design competition]] would design the park. By the end of the year 2,573 registered for the design competition with a prize of $20,000. On March 30, 1981, 1,421 designs were submitted. The designs were displayed at an airport hangar at [[Andrews Air Force Base]] for the selection committee, in rows covering more than {{convert|35000|sqft|m2}} of floor space. Each entry was identified by number only. All entries were examined by each juror; the entries were narrowed down to 232, then to 39. Finally, the jury selected entry number 1026, which had been designed by [[Maya Lin]].<ref name="vvmf.org" /> |
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| − | ===Opposition to design and compromise=== |
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| − | {{See also|Maya Lin#Vietnam Veterans Memorial}} |
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| − | The selected design was very controversial, in particular, its unconventional design, its black color and its lack of ornamentation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2015/04/30/403034599/vietnam-veterans-memorial-founder-monument-almost-never-got-built|title=Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Founder: Monument Almost Never Got Built|website=NPR.org}}</ref> Some public officials voiced their displeasure, calling the wall "a black gash of shame."<ref name=Garber>{{cite news |last= Garber |first= Kent |title= A Milestone for a Memorial that Has Touched Millions |newspaper= U.S. News and World Report |date= November 3, 2007|url= https://www.usnews.com/articles/news/2007/11/03/milestone-for-a-memorial-that-has-touched.html |access-date= November 11, 2009}}</ref> Two prominent early supporters of the project, [[H. Ross Perot]] and [[Jim Webb|James Webb]], withdrew their support once they saw the design. Said Webb, "I never in my wildest dreams imagined such a [[nihilism|nihilistic]] slab of stone."<ref name="politico">{{cite web |url= https://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/vietnam-war-memorial-dedicated-nov-13-1982-215643 |title= Vietnam War Memorial dedicated, Nov. 13, 1982 |last= Glass| first=Andrew |date= 13 November 2015 |website= Politico |access-date=7 March 2020}}</ref> [[James G. Watt|James Watt]], [[United States Secretary of the Interior|secretary of the interior]] under President [[Ronald Reagan]], initially refused to issue a building permit for the memorial due to the public outcry about the design.<ref name=Wills>{{cite news |last= Wills |first= Denise |title= The Vietnam Memorial's History |work= The Washingtonian |date= November 1, 2007 |url= http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/5595.html |access-date= November 11, 2009}}</ref> |
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| − | Since its early years, criticism of the Memorial's design faded. In the words of Scruggs, "It has become something of a shrine."<ref name=Garber /> |
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| − | Negative reactions to [[Maya Lin]]'s design created a controversy; a compromise was reached by commissioning [[Frederick Hart (sculptor)|Frederick Hart]] (who had placed third in the original design competition) to produce a bronze figurative sculpture in the heroic tradition. Opponents of Lin's design had hoped to place this sculpture of three soldiers at the apex of the wall's two sides. Lin objected strenuously to this, arguing that this would make the soldiers the focal point of the memorial, and her wall a mere backdrop. A compromise was reached, and the sculpture was placed off to one side to minimize the impact of the addition on Lin's design. On October 13, 1982, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts approved the erection of a flagpole to be grouped with sculptures. |
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===Building the memorial=== |
===Building the memorial=== |
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On March 11, 1982, the revised design was formally approved, and on March 26, 1982, the ground was formally broken. Stone from [[Bangalore]], [[India]], was chosen because of its reflective quality;<ref name="dupre"/> Swedish and Canadian stone was opposed, as those countries were destinations for draft evaders.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}} Stone-cutting and fabrication were done in [[Barre (town), Vermont|Barre, Vermont]].<ref name=usgs /> Stones were then shipped to [[Memphis, Tennessee]], where the names were etched. The etching was completed using a [[photoemulsion]] and [[sandblasting]] process. Typesetting of the original 57,939 names on the wall was performed by [[Datalantic]] in [[Atlanta]], Georgia. The negatives used in the process are in storage at the [[Smithsonian Institution]]. |
On March 11, 1982, the revised design was formally approved, and on March 26, 1982, the ground was formally broken. Stone from [[Bangalore]], [[India]], was chosen because of its reflective quality;<ref name="dupre"/> Swedish and Canadian stone was opposed, as those countries were destinations for draft evaders.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}} Stone-cutting and fabrication were done in [[Barre (town), Vermont|Barre, Vermont]].<ref name=usgs /> Stones were then shipped to [[Memphis, Tennessee]], where the names were etched. The etching was completed using a [[photoemulsion]] and [[sandblasting]] process. Typesetting of the original 57,939 names on the wall was performed by [[Datalantic]] in [[Atlanta]], Georgia. The negatives used in the process are in storage at the [[Smithsonian Institution]]. |
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