The grandiose triumphal arch with golden doodads that the would-be king Malignant Fascist wants to build in order for posterity to behold his glory may have hit a slight speed bump:
The Trump administration’s proposed 250-foot “triumphal arch” in Washington could have an “adverse” impact on nearly 40 other capital-area landmarks, according to the National Park Service.
Those include changing the views
and potentially altering the symbolism of many of the most iconic and
important sites in Washington, including the Lincoln Memorial, Arlington
National Cemetery and the Washington Monument.
Last month, NPS
solicited public comment and identified potential adverse impacts from
the design as part of the so-called Section 106 process under the
National Historic Preservation Act. The review is a key step as the
project races towards final approval from the National Capital Planning
Commission, which could occur as soon as its next meeting in early
September.
Critics
argue that tourists on the arch’s proposed viewing deck would interrupt
the solemnity of military funerals, while the monument itself would
break up the views between the home of Confederate general Robert E. Lee
and the Lincoln Memorial, a symbol of the nation’s reunification after
the Civil War.
“The scale and mass of the arch is inappropriate in
the context of its historic setting and would negatively impact the
physical and symbolic unity conveyed via the Arlington Memorial Bridge
and Memorial Avenue between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington house,”
Arlington County historic preservation principal planner Mical Durak wrote to the Park Service.
“These adverse effects are intentional and inherent in the design of the
arch; it is intended to dominate the surrounding landscape,” Roger W.
Kirchen, Virginia’s state historic preservation officer, wrote a June
letter as part of the review process, obtained by The New York Times. [snip]
In February, a group of Vietnam War veterans sued to stop the expected construction on the project, which could last more than a year.
“I fear this massive expression of domination will overshadow the
values and spirit of those who valiantly served our country and lie in
Arlington National Cemetery: duty, honor, sacrifice and love of
country,” one of the plaintiffs said in a statement to The Independent at the time.
Earlier
this month, the National Capital Planning Commission, headed by a Trump
ally and former administration official, voted to give the project
preliminary approval.
In May, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts,
headed by Trump appointees, ignored overwhelming public opposition to
the arch to approve the design.
Under federal law, NPS is meant
to try to reduce “adverse” impacts from projects. The Trump
administration has shown no interest in relocating the proposed project
or shrinking its design, which at the present would tower over much of
Washington at nearly double the height limit for most buildings in the capital.
Regardless of whether this tacky tribute to the Worst President in American History By Far is built, half-built, etc., it must be among the first priorities of a Democratic administration to tear it and every other monument to himself that the Malignant Fascist has had built, generally with a large infusion of taxpayer dollars, down. That includes the MF's golden ballroom/ bunker (and restoration of the White House East Wing, Rose Garden, and South Lawn, and no permanent fencing in Lafayette Park). We can't allow physical reminders of this unfit narcissistic sociopath and his catastrophic rule in American history to stand.
(Image: too-big arch, too-small person; Getty Images)
