A report from the National Park Service has backed President Donald Trump's proposed memorial arch, despite acknowledging adverse effects on sightlines between numerous Washington landmarks, including the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and Jefferson Memorial. The 250-foot-tall arch is planned for a location adjacent to Memorial Bridge.
The report states that the arch is likely to disrupt the historical significance of dozens of sites near its proposed location. Many of Washington's monuments and buildings were intentionally designed over decades to create symbolic sightlines connecting them to other historically significant locations. The arch would interrupt these visual connections.
However, the Park Service report also asserts that "the same characteristics that make Memorial Circle sensitive from a preservation perspective are also the characteristics that make it the historically appropriate location for the undertaking." The report concludes that the project's effects cannot be "fully avoided without either relocating the Arch away from the historically identified site or eliminating the principal commemorative feature, both of which would fail to meet the undertaking’s purpose and need." Therefore, alternative locations outside Memorial Circle were deemed "not reasonable avoidance alternatives."
The 133-page report supports Trump's plans for the arch, which has faced legal challenges from veterans and historians. Last month, the proposed gilded arch received initial approval from a key federal commission. The report indicates the structure would impact the "integrity" of historic properties by altering "character-defining visual and spatial relationships" between them.
Specifically, the report cites the arch's disruption of the alignment between the Lincoln Memorial, Memorial Bridge, and Arlington House, the former home of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. This alignment was intended to "physically and symbolically unite North and South through a coordinated monumental composition extending across the Potomac River." The National Mall, U.S. Capitol, Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, Georgetown Historic District, Old Naval Observatory, Key Bridge, and National Cathedral are among the other sites listed as being affected by the proposed structure.
Nicolas Sansone, an attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group representing the plaintiffs, stated that the report "confirms what we've been saying all along: the project will have an enormous impact and transform that National Mall." Sansone added that the report underscores the legal challengers' argument that a project of this scale and importance "is a decision for Congress to make" and should not be advanced through executive action.