Alfred Preis
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Alfred Preis (1911-March 29, 1993) designed the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor.
Preis, who was born in Austria, and lived in Honolulu was detained for three months at the Sand Island Detainment Camp in Hawaii after the December 7, 1941 attack as part of the internment policy of Japanese and German Americans.
The memorial, which was dedicated by John F. Kennedy in 1962, was initially criticized for being a "squashed milk carton" because of its sagging center roof design. Preis responded:
"Wherein the structure sags in the center but stands strong and vigorous at the ends, expresses initial defeat and ultimate victory....The overall effect is one of serenity. Overtones of sadness have been omitted to permit the individual to contemplate his own personal responses...his innermost feelings."[1].
The memorial is Oahu's biggest tourist destination with 1.5 million visitors a year. [2]
Preis was selected from several architect designs. for the memorial. The Navy stipulated that the memorial was supposed to resemble a bridge, handle 200 people and not touch Arizona herself. The original design included portholes where visitors could see the ship beneath the surface. The Navy vetoed this.
Preis' ashes were scattered from the memorial.
Other works include the entrance to the Honolulu Zoo, creation of a park around the Hawaii Capitol, a championing a successful effort that made Hawaii the first state to require companies to donate 1 percent of construction costs for public art.
