PRC Weighs in on Proposed Monumental Arch in Washington DC

Dear Jaime Loichinger,

The Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans is a nonprofit with the mission to preserve historic architecture, neighborhoods, cemeteries, and cultural identity through collaboration, empowerment, and service to our community.

We are deeply concerned with the proposed Monumental Arch at Memorial Circle on the George Washington Memorial Parkway, near Arlington National Cemetery and along the Potomac River in our nation’s capital.

History is brought to life through buildings, places, and landscapes. This transformative power is especially important in public spaces that tell the stories and teach the lessons of our nation’s past. Our country’s achievements and tragedies are etched into our architecture and community spaces. By preserving our historic buildings and places, and telling the stories behind our historic sites, preservation becomes a tool to craft a better and more vibrant future.

In Washington DC, the view from the Lincoln Memorial in the National Mall, across Arlington Memorial Bridge to Arlington National Cemetery and Arlington House, conveys a solemn and powerful message about the history of this country: the horror and devastation of the Civil War and the call to a more unified future, with freedom and justice for all Americans.

Obstructing this view, which holds so much meaning to the American people, is an affront to these American values.

Public participation in decision-making is a defining aspect of our democratic process. The American people should be given a meaningful chance to provide input on a project that will impact one of the most iconic and symbolic vistas in this country. Terminating the Section 106 review process before public consultation was finished and allowing only a few brief days for public comment on this monumental decision is anti-American and anti-history. Separating the American people from this process separates the people from this revered public space.

The National Park Service has acknowledged that the construction of the 250-foot-tall arch on Memorial Circle would result in negative impacts to 37 different historic places important to American history. Despite this, no alternatives have been seriously considered. The scale, location, and design of the arch will overshadow the Lincoln Memorial and interrupt the long, and commanding vista towards the hallowed ground of Arlington National Cemetery.

Washington DC is the political and symbolic nucleus of the United States of America and decisions that impact its urban form and historic character should be approached with the utmost care and thought.

We are opposed to the proposed Monumental Arch not only because it obstructs a revered American vista but because it also hinders our democratic process. There is nothing more sacred than that.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Kristin Gisleson Palmer
Executive Director

MaryNell Nolan-Wheatley
Director of Advocacy and Education