Washington: a cluttered monument to the memorial

All nations are proud of their triumphs. But few countries have both the space and the money to build so many monuments to their leaders, and their accomplishments, as do the Americans. From the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbour, to Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota, the American landscape is awash with monuments and memorials, statues and shrines, to the great and the good.

But nowhere has this habit become more ingrained than in Washington. On May 29, Memorial Day, America's newest shine will be officially unveiled. Built over three years by 500 workers at a cost of US$175 million, the circular tribute in stone known as the World War II Memorial is situated on the city's 6km-long National Mall - midway between the towering Washington Monument and the majestic Lincoln Memorial.

Washington's latest memorial honours the 16 million Americans who served in the second world war, including the 400,000 who died on the battlefields of Europe and Asia. While few Americans question the appropriateness of this memorial, or its elegance (the design was selected from among 400 entries), its location in the heart of the Mall was harshly criticised by urban planners for disrupting the Mall's large open space, which has historically been used for political gatherings, such as the 250,000 people who listened to Martin Luther King's 1963 'I Have a Dream' speech. For that reason, the memorial's original size was scaled back.

But even American historians are now saying enough is enough. They fear that one of the world's most beautiful capitals will soon begin to look like a cluttered national cellar.

Just 100 metres from the new memorial is the Korean War Memorial. And opposite that is the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial. Designed by Chinese-American Maya Lin, The Wall (as it's known today) is the single most visited site in Washington. But at its 1982 dedication many felt its design was too abstract. So, two years later, additional funds were raised to erect a traditional bronze battlefield statue known as the Three Servicemen.

Within a decade, though, still more demands were made, this time for a Vietnam Women's Memorial, honouring nurses who served in Saigon. Thus, today there are three memorials - all dedicated to the same war, all within 50 metres of each other.