Plans for a 250-Foot Independence Arch Near Arlington Cemetery Are Revealed

The Trump administration has filed plans for a monumental arch in Washington that would stand roughly 250 feet tall at a traffic circle between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, with renderings released this week showing a design modeled on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. CBS News and NBC News reported on the plans on Friday.

The structure would be about 250 feet high with its crowning statue, more than twice the 99-foot Lincoln Memorial, CBS News reported; NBC News said the arch itself would be 166 feet tall, with the statue bringing the total to 250 feet. It would stand at Memorial Circle on the Virginia side of the Potomac River, on land that technically falls within the District of Columbia’s boundaries, CBS News said. Renderings by the Washington firm Harrison Design show a winged Lady Liberty on top, two eagles about 24 feet high, four large golden lions at the base and the inscription “One Nation Under God,” NBC News reported. CBS News said another inscription would read “Liberty and Justice For All.”

CBS News said the arch is meant to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary. President Trump called it the “GREATEST and MOST BEAUTIFUL Triumphal Arch” in a Truth Social post, NBC News reported. White House spokesman Davis Ingle said it “will enhance the visitor experience at Arlington National Cemetery.”

Funding is not settled. CBS News said taxpayer money would help pay for it, citing a National Endowment for the Humanities spending plan approved by the Office of Management and Budget in September that reserves $2 million in special initiative funds and $13 million in matching funds for the arch.

The plans face review and a lawsuit. The Interior Department filed them with the Commission of Fine Arts, whose members are all appointed by Mr. Trump, according to CBS News, which said the commission will hear a presentation on April 16. Veterans and historians sued in February, arguing that Congress must approve the project and citing increased traffic and the loss of the view between Arlington and the Lincoln Memorial, NBC News reported. Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan requires 14 days’ notice before construction starts and bars the National Park Service from beginning work until it publishes an authorization notice, NBC News said. Nick Sansone, an attorney for Public Citizen, said the design “would obstruct the view” between the two sites, according to NBC News.

Both outlets noted a separate concern: the site lies along a flight path for Reagan National Airport, which raises questions about the structure’s height.

The arch joins other projects the president has backed in the capital, including a White House ballroom that a federal judge temporarily blocked and the renaming of the Kennedy Center, which is also facing a lawsuit, NBC News noted.