Albert Speer Wants Design Credit for the Washington Commanders' New Stadium

[ericjhensal]

Albert Speer Wants Credit

My first thought after seeing renderings for the proposed Washington Commanders NFL stadium was “Albert Speer.” The columns around the perimeter—they looked fascist. Fascist architecture creates building spaces massive enough that human scale is lost, symbols of ongoing oppression made of concrete and steel that say you are nothing within the state. These columns have less to do with supporting the roof and more with putting people in their place.

I may be biased, considering my long-standing belief Trump and his administration are all Hitler fans. So what if there are so many columns—perhaps it just reflects the neoclassical style ubiquitous in the District of Columbia? Trump likes columns, so HKS Architects put them in to keep him from making trouble on Truth Social. My reaction could just be the hair trigger I have for Trump’s Nazi connections.

Then, I found this May 2025 The Architect's Newspaper article —"Donald Trump’s 2027 NFL Draft plans for the Washington, D.C. National Mall echo stadium by Albert Speer."

I cannot describe Trump's NFL draft venue planning any better than the article itself:

Anyone versed in the Third Reich can see an obvious comparison: Albert Speer’s Cathedral of Light in Nazi Germany, famously captured in films by Leni Riefenstahl. . . The Cathedral of Light (Lichtdom) was a stadium for rallies. It had 152 anti-aircraft spotlights spaced 40 feet apart from one another. It was used between 1934 and 1938. Now, White House plans for the National Mall are jarringly similar.

**snip**

[wcmagumba]

1. That's one ugly stadium...

It calls to mind "Springtime for Hitler", "Don't be stupid be a smarty, come and join the Nazi party"...Dog save us from these people...