National Veterans Memorial and Museum

The City of Columbus has embarked on a decade-long effort to revitalize its riverfront, its downtown core and its cultural institutions.

As part of this transformation, Allied Works was selected to create a place of gathering and remembrance for veterans from all conflicts. The project has long had the support of Ohio’s one million veterans, including soldier, astronaut and US Senator, John Glenn. Established in 2018, the National Veterans Memorial and Museum combines building and landscape in one gesture. It offers the city a new, iconic civic space that tells the story of veterans—from Ohio and across the nation—through diverse artifacts, multimedia exhibits and installations throughout the building and site. Located on the banks of the Scioto River, the landscape is lifted and sculpted into ceremonial space, culminating in a sheltered, open-air amphitheater. Intersecting bands of concrete, arranged in concentric rings, give form to the museum and represent the branches of service that support and strengthen one another. Within, interactive exhibitions convey the experience of historical events and offer a glimpse of military service around the world. On the building’s perimeter, open, light-filled exhibition spaces allow visitors to examine artifacts and exhibits along the bend of the river. The Memorial and Museum honors its mission by creating a new center of learning, dialogue and commemoration for veterans, the city, and the nation.