The Washington Post reports President Trump is proposing a 250-foot “Independence Arch” in Washington, D.C., a structure that would be far taller than the roughly 100-foot Lincoln Memorial. The likely site near Memorial Bridge sits between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery and is under National Park Service jurisdiction, raising concerns about sightlines and symbolism. Critics, preservationists and some architects say the permanent, oversized design risks overwhelming a somber corridor; the proposal would be partly funded by leftover donations from a $400 million White House ballroom project.
Trump Proposes 250‑Foot 'Independence Arch' in Washington — Critics Say It Would Dwarf Lincoln Memorial
Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington DC, on Friday.Photograph: Francis Chung/EPA(Photograph: Francis Chung/EPA)
President Donald Trump has proposed erecting a monumental “Independence Arch” in Washington, D.C., that sources told The Washington Post could reach about 250 feet — more than twice the height of the Lincoln Memorial and taller than Paris’s Arc de Triomphe.
Proposal and Site
The Washington Post reported that the president has identified a small parcel of land near Memorial Bridge on the Potomac River as a potential site. That plot lies under the jurisdiction of the U.S. National Park Service and sits between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, a location critics say could alter long-established sightlines and the symbolic relationship between those memorials.
Design, Funding and Timeline
The proposed arch, dubbed the “Independence Arch,” would stand roughly 250 feet tall — taller than the 164-foot Arc de Triomphe in Paris but well under half the height of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Mr. Trump has reportedly considered smaller alternatives of about 165 feet and 123 feet, but favored the 250-foot design in part because it would mark the nation’s 250th anniversary.
The project has been described as financed in part by leftover donations from a $400 million White House ballroom expansion. The administration is already moving forward with that East Wing expansion, which includes an 89,000-square-foot ballroom rising roughly 70 feet.
Criticism and Concerns
Architects, preservationists and critics have raised objections to both the scale and the proposed location. Catesby Leigh, an art critic who earlier proposed a temporary 60-foot commemorative arch, told The Washington Post:
“I don’t think an arch that large belongs there.”
Leigh suggested Barney Circle in southeast D.C. as an alternative site, saying it would avoid competing with the solemn corridor of Arlington National Cemetery, Memorial Bridge and the Lincoln Memorial. John Haigh, chair of Benedictine College’s architecture program, described the area as “a very somber corridor.”
Reporters say architect Nicolas Leo Charbonneau — who previously posted a rendering online and wrote that “America needs a triumphal arch!” — has been retained to work on designs. Atlanta developer Rodney Mims Cook Jr., president of the National Monuments Foundation, has been appointed to the Commission of Fine Arts, the panel that would have oversight in theory.
Context and Next Steps
Supporters and critics alike note that Washington lacks a large triumphal arch commemorating national achievement. The White House has not announced a formal schedule for approval or construction; reports say Mr. Trump said in December he hoped construction could begin within months, and in January shared design images on his Truth Social platform.
Key details: the 250-foot figure and proposed site are reported by The Washington Post based on anonymous sources; the plan evolved from an earlier proposal for a temporary 60-foot structure; funding is said to include leftover donations from a White House ballroom project; and experts warn the monument could disrupt views and the symbolic landscape near the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington Cemetery.
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