WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s proposed 250-foot-tall memorial arch could disrupt the historical significance of dozens of sites near its planned location, according to an assessment by the National Park Service.
Many of Washington’s monuments, buildings and sites have been carefully planned over decades to reflect significant moments in the nation’s history and evoke symbolism in being connected by sightline to other sites.
The proposed towering gilded arch, which last month received initial approval from a key federal commission, would impact the “integrity” of dozens of those historical properties because it would change “character-defining visual and spatial relationships” between them.
The NPS report, published recently, said the immediate project area is located within the Memorial Avenue Corridor cultural landscape, “a nationally significant historic designed landscape extending between the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., and Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.”
One of the most obvious elements the report cited is that the arch would break alignment between the Lincoln Memorial, Memorial Bridge and Arlington House that was formerly Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s home.
“The bridge alignment and associated ceremonial landscape were intended to physically and symbolically unite North and South through a coordinated monumental composition extending across the Potomac River,” the report said.
The Lincoln Memorial Arlington House connection was one of dozens of historic sites and structures listed as being impacted directly by the proposed structure. It added that the National Mall, the U.S. Capitol, Washington Monument and grounds and Lady Bird Johnson Park would also be directly affected.
The report puts a snag in a project that has sailed through several steps of the approval process in front of planning bodies stocked with Trump appointees and allies.
The White House said in an email that it would follow all legal requirements in constructing the arch.
The proposed arch is one of several projects the Republican president is pursuing to leave his lasting imprint on Washington. With the potential to change the city’s sightline, it has already sparked opposition, including through a lawsuit filed by a group of veterans and a historian.
The arch design, proposed by Trump, has already received early approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. The commissioners were all appointed by Trump. The National Capital Area Planning Commission approved the site and preliminary plans at its July meeting. The commission is expected to take up the matter again at its September meeting.
“The Triumphal Arch in Memorial Circle is going to be one of the most iconic landmarks not only in Washington, D.C., but throughout the world,” said White House spokesman Davis Ingle in an emailed response for comment. “It will enhance the visitor experience at Arlington National Cemetery for veterans, the families of the fallen, and all Americans alike, serving as a visual reminder of the noble sacrifices borne by so many American heroes throughout our 250 year history so we can enjoy our freedoms today.”
The arch is one of several projects Trump has proposed that is involved in litigation. The plaintiffs, three veterans and a historian, have challenged its construction saying it requires Congressional approval.
“Our claim is essentially that none of this has any authorization to be happening in the first place,” said Nicolas Sansone, an attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group representing the plaintiffs. Authorization of the construction of a monument “in the core of Washington, D.C., on National Park Service land” requires an act of Congress, he said.
The National Park Service assessment confirms what the plaintiffs have said the construction will do to the symbolic and solemn area, he added.
“I think its very significant that the National Park Service itself understands that this is the effect that it’s going to have,” Sansone said.
