President Trump envisions D.C. arch to mark 250th anniversary of U.S.
On Wednesday, President Trump showed off plans for a major new monument to be potentially added to Washington, D.C.: a grand, classically styled arch topped with eagles and a gilded, winged statue that suggests Victory.
A watercolor rendition of the proposed arch posted online last month by architect Nicolas Leo Charbonneau of Harrison Design, and reposted by the president on his Truth Social account, shows a monument that bears strong aesthetic similarities to Paris’ Arc de Triomphe and the Soldiers and Sailors’ Memorial Arch in Brooklyn. (Wags have already dubbed the proposed monument from the former real estate developer the “Arc de Trump.”) The renderings also evoke the neoclassical architectural style favored by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
Journalists leaving an Oval Office event Wednesday asked the president who the proposed arch would be built for. He replied: “Me.”
On Wednesday evening, at a fundraising dinner in the East Room to benefit his planned $250 million ballroom addition to the White House, the president displayed three differently scaled models of the possible arch – the largest of which would appear to dwarf nearby iconic, existing structures, including the Lincoln Memorial.
“Whichever one would look good. I happen to think the large one,” he said.
The proposed arch, which is being discussed as a commemoration of the nation’s 250th anniversary next year, would be located in a traffic circle between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial.
The design of any new federal building or memorial is supposed to be approved by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, which is currently closed due to the government shutdown.
NPR reached out for comment to the White House, including regarding the CFA’s potential involvement and a timeline for construction. The White House referred NPR back to the president’s comments at the Oval Office and the fundraising dinner on Wednesday.
Additional reporting by Elizabeth Blair.
Birmingham Museum of Art’s silver exhibit tells a dazzling global story
Silver and Ceremony is made up of more than 150 suites of silver, sourced from India, and some of their designs.
Mentally ill people are stuck in jail because they can’t get treatment. Here’s what’s to know
Hundreds of people across Alabama await a spot in the state’s increasingly limited facilities, despite a consent decree requiring the state to address delays in providing care for people who are charged with crimes but deemed too mentally ill to stand trial. But seven years since the federal agreement, the problem has only worsened.
Ivey appoints Will Parker to Alabama Supreme Court
Parker fills the court seat vacated by Bill Lewis who was tapped by President Donald Trump for a federal judgeship. The U.S. Senate last month confirmed Lewis as a U.S. district judge.
How Alabama Power kept bills up and opposition out to become one of the most powerful utilities in the country
In one of the poorest states in America, the local utility earns massive profits producing dirty energy with almost no pushback from state regulators.
No more Elmo? APT could cut ties with PBS
The board that oversees Alabama Public Television is considering disaffiliating from PBS, ending a 55-year relationship.
Nonprofit erases millions in medical debt across Gulf South, says it’s ‘Band-Aid’ for real issue
Undue Medical Debt has paid off more than $299 million in medical debts in Alabama. Now, the nonprofit warns that the issue could soon get worse.
