In addition to the lens of millions of dollars already spent to design the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, millions more would be needed to pay for the construction and upkeep of the Memorial as currently designed. The National Park Service is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of memorials on the National Mall and would be responsible for the Eisenhower Memorial as well.

The current plan for the Memorial created by the architecture firm Gehry Partners LLP features metal tapestries consisting of twisted and bent stainless steel wiring designed to look like barren trees that would be welded together onto steel cables. These tapestries are to be suspended from 80-foot high columns along the perimeter of the Memorial and are intended to "depict the plains of Kansas, representing Eisenhower's humble beginnings."

A November 2012 study prepared by Booz Allen Hamilton on behalf of the National Park Service estimates the operation, upkeep, and maintenance of the Eisenhower Memorial will cost $740,000 per year, or a total of$37.1 million over 50 years. However, this estimate seems unrealistically low given the significant questions about the current design's scope and durability of materials that would be used.

Read the entire letter HERE.