Book Talk: American Shrines

Thomas Luebke, Secretary of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, and Kay Fanning, architectural historian, will share insights from their book, American Shrines: The Architecture of Presidential Commemoration. The book examines the history of presidential memorialization through architecture, landscape, sculpture, and art, exploring how these memorials express civic ideals and the nation’s collective memory within the public realm. Copies of American Shrines: The Architecture of Presidential Commemoration will be available for purchase, with a book signing following the program. Program Schedule 4:30 pm Doors Open 5 to 6:15 pm Book Talk 6:15 to 7 pm Reception About the Speakers: Thomas Luebke, FAIA Secretary, U.S. Commission of Fine Arts Thomas Luebke has served since 2005 as the Secretary of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, the federal design review agency for the nation’s capital, where he manages the review of more than 700 cases a year involving public buildings, private development, urban planning, and historic preservation. An architect with experience in planning and historic preservation in both public and private sectors, Luebke served previously as the City Architect for Alexandria, Virginia, and as a designer for institutional, commercial, and high-rise projects. A frequent speaker and panelist on topics such as the design of Washington, DC and public architecture, he has led his agency’s publications program, including the latest book, American Shrines: The Architecture of Presidential Commemoration (2025). Luebke holds an M.Arch degree from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. He was honored with the American Institute of Architects Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture in 2015. Kay Fanning served as the historian for the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts from 2008 to 2017. She was a contributing writer for two previous CFA publications, Civic Art (2013) and Palace of State (2018). She received her PhD in architectural history from The University of Virginia; her dissertation American Temples, is the basis for American Shrines: The Architecture of Presidential Commemoration (2025), and it presented the first comprehensive study of Beaux-Arts presidential memorials. Now an independent scholar, her interests include the influence of European Modernism on the Beaux-Arts tradition, and the exploration of how architectural forms are used to convey abstract commemorative ideas. This program is part of the 2026 Biennial Symposium of the Latrobe Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians, Washington, D.C. Hosted by The Catholic University of America School of Architecture and Allied Arts and the National Building Museum.