The Trump administration acknowledges that its planned 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery will have “adverse effects” on the historic landscape and views along the Potomac River, but states those impacts “cannot be fully avoided” due to the arch’s central location. The National Park Service (NPS) has circulated a document to historic preservation agencies detailing these effects, which include impacts to the setting, design, and views of Memorial Circle, a historic property listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Mitigation efforts outlined in the document include monitoring construction vibration, controlling noise, archaeological studies, and parkland improvements like new walkways and lighting.
The proposed arch, more than twice the height of the nearby Lincoln Memorial, would feature the inscription “One Nation Under God” and a statue of Lady Liberty with outstretched wings, along with four golden lions at its base. The administration maintains the arch cannot be relocated from Memorial Circle without fundamentally altering the project. Attorneys representing Vietnam War veterans currently suing to block the arch’s construction have requested a temporary restraining order to halt excavation work, arguing it would obstruct views of Arlington National Cemetery and requires congressional authorization.
Federal rules require consultation with state historic preservation offices when projects may “diminish the integrity” of historic properties, and while consultation is required, agreement is not. The NPS document notes Memorial Circle is within a “highly sensitive historic and commemorative landscape,” and the arch would affect its “spatial organization, circulation, and contributing views and vistas.”
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