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President Donald Trump announced plans recently to build a “promenade” in Washington, D.C., as his administration continues to prioritize the beauty and cleanliness of the nation’s capital.
“We’ll have a little breaking news here because nobody’s heard of it,” President Trump said during a press conference at the Oval Office.
He continued, “At the Lincoln Memorial, the front was supposed to be the back, the back was supposed to be the front – it never got built, because they built two roadways behind it after it was built, and it shut off the gateway to the water – that was really going to be the main entry. And we’re going to be doing that…it’s called the promenade.”
The president was referring to building a new walkway on the back side of the famous Lincoln Memorial. “They want to call it the Trump Promenade,” he remarked. “But I don’t know if I want to do that. But it’s going to be beautiful. It’s a beautiful project, and it’s going to take the Lincoln Memorial right down to the Potomac.”
Regarding this project, as well as the “National Garden of American Heroes” and the pitched Triumphal Arc (also referred to as the “Triumphal Arch” in some cases) – all visionary architectural projects that have become unique capstones of the second Trump administration – Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum added his thoughts.
“It’s important for everyone to know, as you described, these are plans and ideas that have existed since the end of the Civil War,” Burgum told reporters.
Burgum said that of tourists visiting the promenade “right now, there’s no pedestrian access…they don’t know that 100 yards away is the beautiful Potomac River, which was part of the original plan, and now they’ll be able to walk around the Lincoln Memorial, walk on a pedestrian bridge over the first highway, walk over the next one, and right down to the water.”
Burgum referenced the “McMillan Plan,” referring to a beautification plan that was once implemented by the late Republican Sen. James McMillan at the turn of the century, as the nation prepared for a centennial celebration of Washington, D.C., at that time, according to U.S. Senate history.
The secretary said that McMillan “envisioned” the connection between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington Cemetery, including a “circle” within the halfway point that “was designed to hold a monument,” which is where President Trump would like to build the “Triumphal Arc.”