FUN FACT
The White House reiterated the president’s desire to have an iconic monument.
The arch will become “one of the most iconic landmarks not only in Washington, D.C., but throughout the world,” spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement sent to The Washington Post after this article’s publication. “President Trump’s bold vision will be imprinted upon the fabric of America and be felt by generations to come.”
Trump wants to build a 250-foot-tall arch, dwarfing the Lincoln Memorial
The White House stands about 70 feet tall. The Lincoln Memorial, roughly 100 feet. The triumphal arch President Donald Trump wants to build would eclipse both if he gets his wish.
Trump has grown attached to the idea of a 250-foot-tall structure overlooking the Potomac River, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe his comments, a scale that has alarmed some architectural experts who initially supported the idea of an arch but expected a far smaller one.
The planned Independence Arch is intended to commemorate the United States’ 250th anniversary. Built to Trump’s specifications, it would transform a small plot of land between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery into a dominant new monument, reshaping the relationship between the two memorials and obstructing pedestrians’ views.
Trump has considered smaller versions of the arch, including 165-foot-high and 123-foot-high designs he shared at a dinner last year. But he has favored the largest option, arguing that its sheer size would impress visitors to Washington, and that “250 for 250” makes the most sense, the people said.
Architectural experts counter that the size of the monument - installed in the center of a traffic circle - would distort the intent of the surrounding memorials.
- “I don’t think an arch that large belongs there,” said Catesby Leigh, an art critic who conceived of a more modest, temporary arch in a 2024 essay - an idea that his allies championed and brought to the White House.
- His allies also passed along Leigh’s recommendation of an architect, Nicolas Leo Charbonneau, who has been retained by the White House to work on the project.. ."
No comments:
Post a Comment