The Arch’s plans, along with other projects by the U.S. president to reshape the nation’s capital, had met with opposition.
The planned “Arc de Triomphe” near Washington, D.C.’s most iconic landmark will also be a military complex that will be used to store drones and other military equipment, according to US President Donald Trump.
The change was made at the request of the military and “for national security purposes,” President Trump posted on his social media platforms on Sunday.
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The project will now be used to “house, store, and quickly deploy large numbers of drones and snipers, both on the rooftop and in the plaza, as well as store large amounts of sniper ammunition,” Trump said. “No other facility like this exists anywhere in the world.”
President Trump first proposed building a monumental arch last year to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence, saying it would be similar to other famous arches such as the Arc de Triomphe built in Paris after World War II, but would be “the greatest of all arches.”
On Sunday, the US president did not reveal details of the new design, but it was previously slated to be a 76-meter (250-foot) tall arch towering over many of the capital’s other landmarks. By law, the height of new buildings in cities is generally limited.
President Trump’s arch project has since faced criticism for its size, location, and potential for detracting from the view of Arlington National Cemetery, the nation’s famous resting place for veterans.
In February, three Vietnam War veterans filed a lawsuit against the project, claiming it would obstruct the view between the cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial, which was built to honor the American Civil War president. The veterans said in a court filing that the view from the monument was “carefully designed to symbolize the nation’s unity and national strength in the post-Civil War era.” Any large monuments built around the nation’s capital must be approved by the U.S. Congress, the lawsuit argued. The judge ordered the Trump administration to notify if any work is done on the monument, but the court has not yet ruled on the larger challenge.
The Trump-appointed U.S. Commission on Fine Arts, the lead agency involved in the project, approved the design in April, which features a golden lion statue at the base of the arch, and statues of a golden eagle and a winged angel atop a baroque arch similar to those in Paris.
The Federal Aviation Administration announced last week that the arch poses no danger to nearby Reagan-Washington National Airport, but warning lights should be installed at the top.
The monumental arch is one of several President Trump projects in the nation’s capital that have received public backlash.
Thousands of people rallied Saturday, with some demonstrators forming a human chain around the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a landmark along the Potomac River built to honor the 35th U.S. president, John F. Kennedy. President Trump has threatened to demolish the venue if his name is not allowed on it, saying it is the only way to ensure the venue gets enough funding to survive.
President Trump is also overseeing a controversial $400 million project at the White House. The project saw the east wing of the complex demolished to make way for an 8,400 square meter (90,000 square foot) banquet hall with an impenetrable underground bunker. Historic preservation groups sued to block the project, but last month the U.S. Supreme Court allowed construction to continue.
Similar to the Arc de Triomphe, President Trump also justified the need for the new ballroom on national security grounds, calling it a “military complex.”
