Letter
Dear Secretary Burgum:
In its meeting of 16 April, the Commission of Fine Arts reviewed a concept design submission for a new monumental arch to be constructed within Memorial Circle on the George Washington Memorial Parkway, on the axis of Arlington Memorial Bridge. The Commission expressed appreciation for your comments in introducing the proposal at the meeting and approved the submission with the following comments.
The Commission members commented that a proposed monumental arch—a feature characteristic of many national capital cities—would contribute positively to the honorific landscape of Washington, D.C., for many generations. Citing the history of monumental planning for the city to include a large marker in Memorial Circle, they expressed support for the location on this important axis between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, and they endorsed the 166-foot height of the arch itself as appropriate for this setting. However, they noted that the great scale and solidity of the proposed structure, while framing axial views between the memorials, may block oblique views within this monumental setting. They therefore recommended creating secondary open archways within the legs of the central arch in order to make it more open; they also suggested creating a more appropriately grand entry sequence into the interior public spaces of the arch.
For the 84-foot-high monumental grouping of a gilded, winged allegorical figure and flanking eagles on a stepped base proposed for the top of the arch, the Commission members suggested removing these from the design, observing that the project would appear more compatible with Washington’s monumental context without these elements. Regarding the proposed program of sculpture generally, the Commission members requested more information on the various artworks intended for the project, including those for the arched niches, panels, friezes, keystones, and other areas of the arch. They discouraged the inclusion of lions at the base of the arch, which they noted are not native to the United States, but they encouraged substituting native North American examples of heroic, mighty creatures such animals as bison, horses, or grizzly bears. They also suggested removing the wingless bust of an eagle at the keystone of the central arch.
Regarding the treatment of the site, the Commission members acknowledged the difficulty of providing pedestrian access to the arch, which is proposed to be located within a traffic circle. Rather than constructing a tunnel hundreds of feet long to provide this pedestrian access, they recommended adding a surface crosswalk on the western side of the traffic circle, which would allow a symmetrical composition for the ramps that lead from the street level to the elevated plinth at the base of the arch. They also recommended refining the relationship of the site to the traffic circle itself, extending the landscape design outward to the greatest extent possible, as well as limiting the use of asphalt pavement to the minimum required for traffic and using a different material, such as stone cobbles, for the restricted areas of the circle instead of applied graphic striping as presented.
In its action of concept approval, the Commission requested that the project be reviewed next as a revised concept submission that responds to these comments. The submission should include: more detailed information should be provided about the intended program of sculptures; an extension of the site model to illustrate the axis of the National Mall eastward from the Lincoln Memorial; the illustration of views to the arch from Arlington House, the Hemicycle, and the Lincoln Memorial; and documentation of the absolute heights of the major monuments within this symbolic landscape as measured from sea level.
The Commission of Fine Arts looks forward to the continued review of this substantial addition to the monumental composition of the national capital. Please coordinate the next submission with the staff which, as always, is available to assist you.
Sincerely,
/s/Thomas E. Luebke, FAIA
Secretary
The Honorable Doug Burgum
Secretary of the Interior
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20240
cc: Nicolas Leo Charbonneau, Harrison Design
Robin Rode, Les Métalliers Champenois
Josh Fisher, Executive Office of the President
Marcel Acosta, National Capital Planning Commission