The Place of Meditation is the final resting place of Dwight David Eisenhower, October 14, 1890-March 28, 1969; Mamie Geneva Doud Eisenhower, November 14, 1896-November 1, 1979; and their first-born son, Doud Dwight Eisenhower, September 23, 1917-January 2, 1921.
Designed by John Brink, a Kansas State architect, it is built of native limestone quarried in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas, and features chipped glass windows designed by Odell Prather, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The windows were constructed by Conway Glass Studio of Winona, Minnesota. The marble used in the crypt is Arabian Travertine from Germany, Italy, and France. The large embroidered hanging carries the words of the prayer that President Eisenhower wrote for his first Inaugural Address, on January 20, 1953.
There is a meditation portion of the building where, according to General Eisenhower's wishes, it was hoped that visitors would reflect upon the ideals that made this a great nation and pledge themselves again to continued loyalty to those ideals. The Place of Meditation was built with private funds under the auspices of the Eisenhower Presidential Library Commission.
Dwight D. Eisenhower Quotations
Place of Meditation
"The real fire within the builders of America was faith -- faith in a Provident God whose hand supported and guided them: faith in themselves as the children of God ... faith in their country and its principles that proclaimed man's right to freedom and justice."
Abilene Homecoming
Abilene, Kansas
June 4, 1952
"Humility must always be the portion of any man who receives acclaim earned in blood of his followers and sacrifices of his friends."
Guildhall Address
London, England
June 12, 1945
"Every gun made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed....This is not a way of life at all...Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron."
Chance For Peace Address
Washington, DC
April 16, 1953
