After teasing the idea in recent months, US President Donald Trump has now confirmed that plans for a 76-metre (250-foot) triumphal arch in Washington DC have been filed with the US Commission of Fine Arts.
Trump called it “the greatest and most beautiful triumphal arch anywhere in the world.”
If the project is completed, it will dwarf the famous Arc de Triomphe in Paris, which stands a little less than 50 metres. It will also surpass the Monument of the Revolution in Mexico, which is currently the world’s tallest triumphal arch at 67 meters high, and the runner-up, the Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang, at 60 meters high.
“This will be a wonderful addition to the Washington, DC area for all Americans for decades to come,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Friday.
Costs are still unclear
According to the plans, the arch is to have a gilded arch reminiscent of Lady Liberty, with two eagles on either side and four lions protecting it, also gilded, and bearing the inscriptions “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice for All” in gold letters.
However, it is unclear how much the project will cost. Axios The October report cited an estimate from White House insiders that put the cost at $100 million (€85 million). It is also possible that private money will be used to finance the memorial, as is the case with the controversial White House Ballroom construction.
Arch plans to challenge in court
Trump previously said the arch would be built on July 4 to commemorate 250 years since the signing of the US Declaration of Independence. When a reporter asked who the memorial was for, he pointed to himself and said, “Me” and added that it would be “fantastic”.
The former real estate developer also argued that Washington DC was the only major capital city that did not have its own triumphal arch.
The plans are to be reviewed by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. In October, Trump fired all members of the agency’s board and replaced them with his political allies.
Separately, the arch faces a legal challenge from three Vietnam War veterans and an architectural historian, who argue that the arch would need to be approved by Congress.
Edited by: Carl Sexton