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Peace tower set for D.C. area

By Jen Haberkorn
October 6, 2007

Getty Images A preliminary design for a new monument in the nation's capital, the "Tower of Invincibility," was shown during a press conference yesterday. The monument is planned as a permanent monument celebrating freedom, sovereignty and peace.

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A local developer announced plans yesterday for a 12-story monument to peace that he hopes to build in the Washington area.

Jeffrey S. Abramson, a partner with the Tower Companies, a North Bethesda development group, is asking area residents to suggest potential sites for his "Tower of Invincibility."

The tower will be a monument to peace, he said, and is derived from the principles of the International Center for Invincible Defense, a New York organization. It calls for groups of people to practice advanced meditation techniques and says that transcendental meditation can calm hostilities in the world and prevent violence and war.

The proposal doesn't fall in line with the District's other, traditional monuments, such as the Washington Monument or the Memorial Peace Cross in Bladensburg, but the Tower Cos. has a long history of constructing buildings in the Washington area.

The Tower Cos. has built office, residential, hotel and retail complexes, largely concentrated in Farragut North and Bethesda. The company also developed White Flint Mall. Lately, it has championed eco-friendly green construction.

Mr. Abramson said the tower represents "scientific principles and a universal knowledge of how to create peace. It's not an empty wish or a philosophy of peace. It's as concrete and real as the science and technology of electricity."

The proposed building would be 12 stories high, or 166 feet tall, and encompass 20,00 square feet of space. The exterior would be marble and feature an observatory to provide 360-degree views from the top. The tower would house multimedia exhibitions on world peace.

Ideally, the project would require up to an acre of land, Mr. Abramson said.

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