Observation deck would give visitors a viewpoint of private funerals at Arlington
The National Park Service has found that President Donald Trump’s proposed 250-foot Triumphal Arch in Washington, D.C., would adversely affect about 40 historic sites around the city. The agency announced the finding Monday and set a Thursday deadline for public comments. Among the sites the Park Service listed as adversely affected are the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Arlington National Cemetery and the U.S. Capitol.
Trump is seeking to build the arch on Memorial Circle, between the Arlington Memorial Bridge and the Arlington National Cemetery. At 250 feet, the structure would be more than twice the height of the Lincoln Memorial and would break local height restrictions. The arch would be visible from many other notable locations.
The design includes an observation deck, which would give visitors a viewpoint of private funerals held at the cemetery. The arch would also obstruct the view from the cemetery of the Eternal Flame at President John F. Kennedy’s gravesite.
“These adverse effects are intentional and inherent in the design of the arch; it is intended to dominate the surrounding landscape,” Roger W. Kitchen, Virginia’s State Historic Preservation officer, said in a letter to the Park Service in June.
Others who have commented say the arch will harm the experiences of other historic sites. Officials from preservation organizations in Virginia and Washington have voiced concerns that the review process is being rushed. The review of the proposal did not begin until after the site for construction was chosen and after a federal panel had already approved the design.
The administration has separately proposed changes to federal preservation rules that would limit the role of the public in maintaining public spaces and historical sites, an approach that extends beyond the arch project and Washington, D.C.