Trump floats three designs for his 'Independence Arch' in DC
Joey GarrisonWASHINGTON — President Donald Trump appears to be looking at three designs as options for a new arch he's planning for the National Mall in Washington DC.
Trump, in a Jan. 23 post on Truth Social, released an image detailing three renderings ‒ each with slightly different features ‒ of the arch he wants built on the opposite side of the Arlington Memorial Bridge from the Lincoln Memorial.
All three arches have American bald eagles and the words "The Independence Arch" atop the structures.
One of the images shows an arch with gold accents, much like Trump's revamped Oval Office in the White House. It also has two Roman-style statutes depicting two unidentified women.
The second image is similar to the first but with no gold accents. It also has two statues, one on each side of the arch, but the figures appear to be of former presidents or other male historical figures. The third rendering as no statutes at all.
The White House would not comment on the renderings, including when asked about the identities of the statues. Trump has embraced his name going on buildings and other institutions, including the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. But the statues don't appear to be of Trump.
Trump wants the new arch to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
At a White House event in October, Trump held up three different 3-D models of the arch, each varying in size but lacking the details of the newly released renderings. One of the arches would dwarf the nearby Lincoln Memorial.
The arch resembles the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, leading some to give Trump's arch the nickname "Arc de Trump. In a Dec. 31 interview with Politico, Trump said he hopes to begin construction of the arch in the two months.
The addition of the arch to the National Mall would likely need approval from the National Capital Planning Commission and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. The 12-member planning commission is stacked with Trump loyalists. Trump in October fired all six members of the fine arts commission and appointed replacements.
The White House has not said how much the arch would cost. Trump has said he will use private dollars to pay for it, just as he's pledged to us private donations to cover the $400 million price tag for a new ballroom he's building on the White House grounds.
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.