Federal Agency to Review Updated Plans for Proposed Washington Arch
The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts will consider revised designs for a 250-foot arch planned for a traffic circle between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. The review follows the agency's April approval of the concept after it suggested changes.
The IndependentU.S. Commission of Fine Arts is scheduled to review updated plans for a proposed 250-foot arch in Washington at its meeting on Thursday. The arch would stand on a traffic circle between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
It would feature a Lady Liberty-like figure holding a torch, flanked by two eagles and guarded at the base by four gilded lions. The phrases “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice for All” would be inscribed in gold lettering. A public observation deck on top would offer 360-degree views.
The commission’s vice chairman, architect James McCrery II, said in April that he preferred the arch without the figures on top, which would reduce its height by about 80 feet.
Trump has proposed the arch as one of several projects intended to leave his imprint on Washington. Other projects include adding a blue coating to the interior of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool ahead of July 4 celebrations marking America’s 250th birthday. S.
Commission of Fine Arts, whose members were appointed by Trump, approved the concept at its April meeting. Preliminary surveys and testing of the site began last week.
A group of veterans and a historian have sued the Trump administration in federal court to block construction. They argue the arch would disrupt the sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House at Arlington National Cemetery. Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum have argued that Washington is the only major Western world capital without such an arch.
Burgum’s department includes the National Park Service, which manages the plot. The Cultural Landscape Foundation has filed a separate lawsuit challenging Trump’s plan to repaint the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool blue. The nonprofit group argues the changes at the Reflecting Pool violate federal preservation laws.
A hearing in that case is scheduled for Thursday afternoon in federal court in Washington.
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