Trump administration unveils renderings of its proposed gold-accented arch

Designs for a towering, gold-accented triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery were revealed by the White House on Friday – providing more insight into the latest iteration of President Donald Trump’s desire to mold the physical footprint of Washington, DC, into his own vision. The proposed 250-foot arch, pictured on a traffic circle between the cemetery’s entrance and the Lincoln Memorial, is topped by a golden statue of a winged Lady Liberty holding a shield and a torch. Two golden eagles sit beneath the statue’s wings in the renderings prepared by Harrison Design, a Washington architectural firm. The Trump administration shared the renderings with the Commission on Fine Arts, a government agency that would need to approve the designs. The structure evokes Paris’ Arc de Triomphe, though it would exceed its height by more than 80 feet. It would be more than double the height of the nearby Lincoln Memorial. Other gold-plated features include two phrases: “One Nation Under God” on the side of the arch that faces the Lincoln Memorial and “Liberty and Justice for All” on the portion that faces the cemetery; golden garnish lining the uppermost level of the arch; accents inside the arch itself and several gold lions on pedestals surrounding the structure. Related article Ian Berry/CNN See Trump’s plans for remaking DC’s footprint 5 min read The administration has proposed the structure as a way to commemorate the United States’ 250th birthday. But the proposal has raised alarms since Trump unveiled the idea due to the way it would block historically significant views in either direction and for potential hazards related to its location near a runway at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. A veterans group has sued the federal government to block construction of the arch, arguing that the project would dishonor the service of veterans by obstructing the view to Arlington Memorial Cemetery and “would degrade their personal experience when visiting Arlington Cemetery or traveling around Memorial Circle and on the Memorial Avenue Corridor.” The arch is one of several efforts to impose the president’s aesthetic tastes across the nation’s capital, including Trump’s demolition of the East Wing to make room for a sprawling White House ballroom, the paving over of the Rose Garden in the style of his Mar-a-Lago club, and planned renovations of the Kennedy Center, which now bears Trump’s name on the building’s facade. Rep. Don Beyer, a Virginia Democrat whose district abuts the site of the proposed arch, said the arch was meant to cater to Trump’s “ego.” “While Americans worry about skyrocketing costs and another endless war, President Trump is focused on a taxpayer-funded vanity project that would choke traffic, block our skyline, and tower over sacred ground where those who served our nation are buried, including my own parents and sister,” Beyer said in a post on X. This story has been updated with additional details.