The Washington, DC, landscape could soon feature a new monument, with President Donald Trump unveiling the idea at a White House dinner for donors.
Trump said the arch would commemorate next year’s 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
“We have a lot of legends in the room tonight and that’s why we’re here to celebrate you because you’ve given a tremendous amount of money to see a ballroom built for the first time at the White House,” Trump told the donors.
“The White House for 150 years plus, they wanted to have a ballroom and it never happened because they never had a real estate person.”
Trump showed donors three different sizes of a 3D model of a giant arch, similar to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. This one though, will feature Lady Liberty, in gold, at the top. He also revealed the proposed location for the arch was across from the Lincoln Memorial.
“So, that circle—that’s Arlington Memorial Bridge,” Trump said. “And at the end of it, you have a circle that was built 150 years ago. They put two columns on one side. Two columns on the other, but you have in the middle, just a circle, and everyone that passes it said something was supposed to be built there … but a thing called the Civil War interfered. That’s a good reason.”
New ballroom
Trump’s arch idea was shared with a rendering of the new $200 million White House ballroom in the background.
The president said the East Room is the largest area in the White House and described the future space as “phenomenal” and “one of the best anywhere in the world.”
He also described the new ballroom as having four sides of “bulletproof” glass that is “totally appropriate in color and in window shape.”
The new addition is about 90,000 square feet. Trump said the ballroom would be able to hold 999 people. Currently, only 200 people are allowed at the White House event space in the East Wing.
Rose Garden
In between running the country, Trump also decided to give the Rose Garden a redesign much to the dismay of critics who did not want an overhaul of the space that was installed in 1913 by former first lady Ellen Louise Wilson, wife of President Woodrow Wilson.
The grassy space was one of the White House’s most iconic areas made famous by the rose bushes that lined the landscaped lawn.
Last spring, Trump announced he would be paving over it to make it safer and more convenient for people attending events—particularly for women wearing high heels.
In September, the president was going to host the inaugural event in the new White House Rose Garden. It was to be a gathering of some of the country’s wealthiest and most powerful businessmen, but torrential rain put a damper on that idea and the lavish dinner was moved indoors.
