US President Donald Trump wants to leave his mark on the nation’s capital by building a Paris-style arch just west of the Lincoln Memorial.
Mr Trump unveiled the plan at a dinner on Wednesday, local time, for the wealthy businesspeople who have pledged money towards the $US250 million ($386 million) cost of adding a massive ballroom to the White House.
At the dinner, Mr Trump showed off three different-sized models of the arch, which will feature a statue of Lady Liberty on top, and acknowledged that the largest one was his favourite.
The White House is yet to disclose who is financing the build of the ballroom. (Reuters: Jonathan Ernst)
The arch would stand at the Washington end of Memorial Bridge, which spans the Potomac River from Arlington, Virginia.
Mr Trump thanked his dinner guests for being “so generous in your contributions” for the ballroom and said there might be enough money left over to cover the cost of building the arch.
“It’s fully taken care of now and, in fact, we’ll have money left over and we’ll use that for something,” he said.
“We’ll use that probably, maybe for the arch or something else that will come. But we love to fix up Washington.
“It’s going to be really beautiful,” Mr Trump said.
“I think it’s going to be fantastic.”
Mr Trump did not put a price tag on the cost of the arch.
French inspiration
Mr Trump seems to draw inspiration from the French.
The proposed arch bears a striking resemblance to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the famous monument at the end of the Champs-Élysées honouring those who fought for France during the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars.
A military parade held in Washington earlier this year to mark the army’s 250th birthday was inspired after Mr Trump witnessed a similar event down the famous Parisian boulevard eight years ago as a guest of France’s president, Emmanuel Macron.
The proposed arch has a striking resemblance to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, honouring those who fought for France during the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars. (Reuters: Jonathan Ernst)
The White House did not immediately respond on Thursday to an emailed request for more information on the arch, including the timeline for completing it.
Harrison Design, a local firm, is working on the project, according to a weekend social media post from Mr Trump.
A representative for the firm did not respond to an emailed request seeking comment on Thursday.
Many presidents and first families try to leave their imprint on the White House, and Mr Trump is already doing that with many of the design and construction changes he has made to the property, perhaps most notably by converting the Rose Garden into a stone-covered patio.
It is unclear if the White House has already presented the proposal to the National Capital Planning Commission. (AP: John McDonnell)
But the arch goes far beyond the White House, giving Mr Trump a chance to leave another lasting monument in a city known for them.
It would expand on his earlier talk of sprucing up the city by replacing its “tired” grasses, broken signage and street medians.
It was unclear if the White House has presented the proposal to the National Capital Planning Commission, which has responsibility over planning and siting monuments, memorials and statues in the city.
A former chair of the commission, Larry Preston Bryant Jr, said in an email that federal law requires that the proposed arch be put through the commission’s review and approval process.
AP