You wrote: "Though Mills’ design was accepted in 1845, and begun three years later, construction ground to a halt in 1856. When it resumed after the Civil War, the pantheon was scrapped, the obelisk’s dimensions height was lowered to 555 feet and its point was sharpened....." ....and instead, my ancestor, Joseph Christmas Ives is credited as the Architect & Engineer on the completed Washington Monument.

How about a monument to all the foreign victims of America's wars? Probably not, for reasons of space if nothing else, as look at what size the Vietnam Veterans memorial is and it only holds the names of ~58,000 dead Americans while ~2 MILLION Vietnamese died in the war, many of them civilians killed in American carpet bombing of the North. The memorial would have to stretch all the way around the city and then some if it was to have their names on it, if it was even possible to find out the victims' names.

Or maybe one for the quarter of a million dead Filipinos from the brutal suppression of the Philippine Insurrection in the early 1900s. Or the who-knows-how-many dead from the illegal war in Iraq which involved the U.S. Air Force dropping four joint direct attack munitions on downtown Baghdad and wiping out several residential city blocks in an instant (and their inhabitants of course) in an unsuccessful assassination attempt against Saddam Hussein, based on false information given to the C.I.A. by an Iraqi janitor? Remember that? Probably not, even though it was all over the news for about a day right after it happened before being buried by other news.

But at least Germany has had the decency to erect a holocaust memorial in Berlin dedicated to its victims. But then again, even Nazi Germany never stooped so low as to name its sports teams after victims of its genocide like America has (Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, Washington Redskins etc.) so I doubt any of this will come to pass. The U.S. just isn't that kind of grown-up, mature, introspective and compassionate country. Never has been.

The Mothers Monument looks like something Stalin and his people would have come up with.

Every time I look at the "Main elevation of Capitol competition entry by James Diamond, 1792" I laugh. The bird on top seems really out of proportion and it reminds me of a chicken.
I enjoyed looking at all the selections of monuments that were never built. Some very interesting ideas were proposed.

The proposed Lincoln and and Motherhood were like ancient monuments: meant to make the viewer feel small. A very un-American attitude!

Strange: I always felt the Washington Monument was somehow stark, almost barren. In light of the original concept, it is.

Franklin Webster Smith's 'National Galleries of History and Art' was the precursor of EPCOT and the World Showcase. I wonder if Walt Disney was ever exposed to Smith's ideas?

The Mothers' Monument looks eerily like the Voortrekker Monument in South Africa (built 1938-56). That one is also in a certain way dedicated to "moederheid" and "gesin" (motherhood and family) of the nation, for very similar reasons.

I would have liked to see some of these buildings with there grand designs built. We do have some fancy buildings in Washington,such as the orignal Smithsonian buildings and some of the are galleries and the Archives building. Not that I am all that unhappy with what we have.

I would have liked to see some of these buildings with there grand designs built. We do have some fancy buildings in Washington,such as the orignal Smithsonian buildings and some of the are galleries and the Archives building. Not that I am all that unhappy with what we have.

I am Glad that the monument was built like it is because I feel like it has an important role in my life the way it is. (I like driving past it everyday because it gives me a since of patriotism.) Also I agree what Haden Sever (my favorite Sever) said about the precipitation thing. ( Like my use of Vocab??)

I think the unbuilt kennedy center should have been built.I like the way it looks and where it is.

im glad the lincoln memorial was not built like that because the way it is now resembles him more. it shows more power and his personality.

I am happy because it was not built because it does not need to be built there. It looks like a church from here. And besides it would have taken a lot of Washington DC's space.

i am glad that it was not built because then if it was finished,it would take up a lot of Washington D.C.everyone would be unhappy in a way because if there trying to see fire works on the forth of July, then they wont be able to see anything.

I am glad the Lincoln monument was not built like that. I feel this way because if it rained, snowed, hailed or anything like that happened there is no place to stay dry unlike the actual memorial which has a huge place to stay dry.

While many of these ideas are ill-advised at best, the original design of the Kennedy Center is beautiful. What a shame it wasn't built this way, instead of the current one, which I nominate as one of the ugliest modern buildings in the United States, especially one that ever had money invested in it. It is bragged that the existing building was made of entirely donated materials. They don't need to tell anyone, because it shows!

A "round domed rotunda". That seems ro-tundant..oops, please excuse me. Redundant, actually, as anything I have ever seen that was called rotund or a rotunda was always round.

I can't help but notice the airplane in the sky that is headed straight for the Capitol...

Even Barney Fife (and, presumably, Congress) knows that you don't "nix" something in the bud-- you "nip" it!

It would be interesting today to see the city as was envisioned so many years ago. Seems to be a very worth while exhibit.

If Smithsonian ever republished the book the GPO did of Smith's National Galleries of History and Art, *I* would certainly buy a copy. I love the idea of walking through life-size replicas of ancient homes and temples from different cultures!! The small 'replica' rooms at the Smithsonian were my favourites as a child.

A Vision is always a must as the photo illustrates but it takes a Visionary to act upon it to bring it to PRAGMATIC FRUITION.Maybe very little has Changed .

It strikes me that however impractical some of these designs may have been, they were all so very stately, refined, and beautiful. There is something magnificent about them, recalling times of greater confidence and manners.

This unbilt Wash DC is very interesting. Some would have been good. Some of the new stuff have been very appropiate.
Overall very good. Should not fill it up with new bldgs. too soon.

Absolutely agree with the comment of J. R. above

Interesting. I have wondered or a long time who did the sculpture atop the Capitol Building. And what is the subject?

I love the architecture and monuments that grace our Capitol. Very impressive, but as stated amid a lot of squalor.

Although I don't agree in every case with the details of these ideas, I do believe that the idea that Washington should be a showcase city. It saddens me that the nation's capital has so much seedy commercial stuff.

Interesting to see the vision shared so long ago. Great exhibition with a historical feel.