Memorial Center Design Clears Hurdle

During the meeting, held at the National Building Museum, Powell asked to hear only from witnesses who wanted to comment on the design.

Judy Scott Feldman, chairman of Rockville-based National Coalition to Save Our Mall, told the panel that the design was wrong for the site and should not be approved.

"It causes serious adverse effects to the National Mall, the Lincoln Memorial historic landscape and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial itself," she said. "By accommodating the visitor, the designers have had to carve up the historic landscape of the National Mall."

Several commissioners, though commending the architects and voting in the majority to approve, also voiced reservations.

"The Wall is the most evocative place on the mall," said Pamela Nelson, the vice chairman. She worried that throngs visiting the center might diminish the solemnity of the Wall, just across Bacon Drive. The black granite memorial bears the names of more than 58,000 Americans who were killed or declared missing during the war.

The architects said the center would probably get 1.5 million visitors a year.

"It's big," Nelson said. "If it gets . . . smaller rather than bigger, my problems might be addressed."

Commissioner John Belle said he wonders whether the center might "dilute the impact of the Wall itself."

James S. Polshek, founding partner of his company, said that comparisons with the Wall were inevitable but that the Wall was designed for reverence and the center for information.

As for complaints about the size of the center, Sherman-Wolcott asked after the meeting, "Why didn't they make the war smaller?"

The commissioners said they would send Polshek a letter detailing their concerns. Powell said the concept probably would be revised and would come before the commission again. He did not say when the commission might give final approval.

In other business, the commission gave a cool reception yesterday to a plan to build a giant headquarters complex for the Department of Homeland Security on the west campus of St. Elizabeths Hospital, a historic hilltop site in Anacostia.

The plan has faced strong opposition from historic preservationists and others who fear that the construction of buildings for 14,000 employees will overwhelm the site, valued for its architecture and views.

"The general sense is there's 20 pounds of potatoes in a 10-pound bag," Powell said.

He urged the General Services Administration, which is coordinating the project, to consult further with preservationists and other critics and return with an update.

Staff writer Mary Beth Sheridan contributed to this report.