Park Service Finds Trump’s Arch Could Detract From Dozens of Historic Places
The 250-foot-tall edifice would alter views across Washington and Arlington Cemetery.
President Trump’s proposed 250-foot-tall triumphal arch would change the skyline of Washington to such an extent that it would intrude on views at dozens of historic sites around the capital, according to an assessment by National Park Service staff.
It would disrupt the symbolic relationship between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, obstruct sightlines from the Kennedy Gravesite and Robert E. Lee’s home, and alter what official documents call “one of the most magnificent” views in Washington at the National Cathedral four miles away, the Park Service said.
The assessment of the arch’s impact on surrounding historic properties is a key step the administration must complete before the project can receive final approval by the National Capital Planning Commission, which could come as soon as its next meeting on Sept. 3.
The Park Service is supposed to seek ways to reduce such “adverse effects” on historic sites under the National Historic Preservation Act . But the arch is expected to move forward with little change given that Mr. Trump has shown no interest in the most obvious remedies — scaling down the project, or building it somewhere else.
Precisely because the arch was designed to be so large and prominently located — it’s taller than the capital’s height limits allow , and more than twice as tall as the nearby Lincoln Memorial — it would be visible from many significant sites around Washington, altering what are considered defining characteristics of those places.
