Final plans for Ukraine famine memorial in Washington approved

Project will be erected in a very prominent position in downtown Washington, D.C. near Union Station and one block from the Memorial to Victims of Communism

WASHINGTON, Sept 8, 2012 (UBO) — Washington, D.C., a city noted for its monuments, moved a step closer to construction of a new monument as a memorial to the victims of 1932-33 manmade famine inflicted on Ukraine by the Soviet regime headed by Joseph Stalin.

The project, which has been in preparation for years, is a joint effort of the Embassy of Ukraine in Washington and the U.S. National Park Service in cooperation with the Hartman – Cox architectural firm. The site of the proposed memorial was approved by the NPS, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), and the Commission of Fine Arts in 2008.

On Sept 6, 2012 the National Capital Planning Commission approved preliminary and final site development plans for the memorial.

A design competition for the project had been held earlier leading to the approval of design submitted by Washington architect Larysa Kurylas. The famine memorial design is in stark contrast with most Washington monuments that depict famous persons in history.

It will instead include a bronze sculptural wall depicting wheat receding into the wall. The location approved by the planning commission is near Union Station at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, North Capitol and F streets, appropriately only one block from the Memorial to Victims of Communism.

The purpose of the proposed memorial is to honor the victims of the manmade famine that occurred in Ukraine between 1932 and 1933 and to inform and educate the public about those events because the famine is largely unknown in the United States.

The location near one of the busiest railroad stations in the United States and only a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol building assures the memorial will be seen every year by hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world.

For photos of architectural conceptions of new memorial:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/113 ... lbums/5785883547646417921