The World War II Memorial, recently unveiled on the Mall in Washington, D.C., embodies the term “neo”—Neoclassic, neo-Modern, even neo-Postmodern—and inhabits a nether region in the landscape between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. While its axial placement and the prominence of its subject called for greatness, unfortunately the nation has received a compromised memorial muddled in its architectural language and tamely settled into the site.

The site is pleasant enough. On a sunny May day, tourists had already found the Kodak moments in all the cardinal directions, including a stunning view out toward the Lincoln Memorial beside a cascading waterfall. The fountains splashed on cue; taxicabs disgorged newcomers and a few veterans, who pointed out the states on the 56 pylons anchoring each end of the display. The crowds smiled at architect Friedrich St. Florian’s design.