The Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday gave initial approval to President Donald Trump’s proposal for a new monument in Washington, D.C., designed to acknowledge the country’s 250th birthday.
The federal panel unanimously approved the design, clearing a major bureaucratic hurdle for Trump’s pet project, though its construction remains threatened by a lawsuit that raises concerns the arch would disrupt views between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
“I’ve been watching very carefully, and the designs just get better and better and better and better and better,” James McCrery II, the commission’s vice chairman, said. “It’s very, very, very good.”
Nicolas Charbonneau, the lead architect, said the proposed monument, dubbed the “Independence Arch,” could reach 250 feet in a nod to the semiquincentennial. At that height, the new monument is set to become the world’s tallest ceremonial arch, towering over iconic structures such as the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial and
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