Trump Administration Unveils 250-Foot D.C. Arch Design

The Trump administration unveiled detailed designs on Friday for a proposed 250-foot triumphal arch in Washington, D.C., intended to commemorate the nation's 250th anniversary in 2026. The neoclassical structure, inspired by Paris's Arc de Triomphe, would rise at Memorial Circle, a traffic roundabout at the Virginia end of the Arlington Memorial Bridge, positioning it across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial and near Arlington National Cemetery.

Renderings submitted to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts depict a white monument topped by a gilded winged figure resembling Lady Liberty, holding a torch and wearing a crown. The statue would be flanked by two eagles and guarded at its base by four golden lions, with gold inscriptions reading "One Nation Under God" on one side and "Liberty and Justice for All" on the other. At 250 feet from base to torch tip, the arch would stand more than twice as tall as the 100-foot Lincoln Memorial and exceed the 164-foot Paris landmark. The designs, prepared by the architecture firm Harrison Design, were filed by the Department of the Interior.

President Donald Trump first proposed the arch in October 2025 during a White House dinner for...