Topline
President Donald Trump’s administration has teased plans for a massive stone arch near the Lincoln Memorial—what appears to be his latest attempt to leave his aesthetic stamp on Washington after making several structural changes to the White House that match his interior design style.
A plan for an arch across from the Lincoln Memorial is seen on the Resolute Desk as US President Donald Trump meets with Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Prime Minister Petteri Orpo in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on October 9, 2025. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)
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Key Facts
Trump posted a rendering by Harrison Design architecture firm that shows a sketch of the stone arch, topped with a golden winged angel and two eagles.
Harrison Design partner and principal Nicolas Leo Charbonneau shared the same image on X in September and said it was “a proposal for a triumphal arch in DC for #America250,” adding “America needs a triumphal arch!”
Earlier this week, a 3D mockup of the arch photographed on Trump’s desk in the Oval Office shows it positioned across the Potomac River in Arlington, Virginia, at a traffic roundabout known as Memorial Circle facing the Lincoln Memorial.
The arch, resembling Paris’ Arc de Triomphe and the Grand Army Plaza Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Arch in Brooklyn, which in turn take their designs from arches constructed by the ancient Romans, appears taller than the Lincoln Memorial in the mock up pictured in the Oval Office.
According to the Washington Post, National Civic Art Society president Justin Shubow proposed the arch to Trump to mark America’s 250th anniversary on July 4 next year.
What We Don’t Know
Virtually any details apart from the idea. It is not clear how much it would cost to build the arch, how much time it would take to construct or exact plans for its dimensions.
Chief Critic
Architect and former University of Maryland and Catholic University professor Eric Jenkins told The Architect’s Newspaper the monument could “disrupt a symbolic connection” between “the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House and Arlington National Cemetery’s ‘most hallowed ground.’”
Key Background
Trump has made numerous aesthetic changes to the White House, including adorning the Oval Office in gold fixtures, and paving over the Rose Garden to resemble the patio at Mar-a-Lago. The Trump administration also announced plans in July for a $200 million ballroom larger than the actual White House. The Trump administration has said private donations would pay for the ballroom.
Further Reading
Trump’s $200 Million Ballroom Addition Is Larger Than The Existing White House: What We Know (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/10/11/trump-teases-apparently-huge-triumphal-arch-across-from-lincoln-memorial/
