Trump Selects West Potomac Park for Proposed National Garden of American Heroes
President Donald Trump said Friday that his administration has chosen West Potomac Park as the site for the proposed National Garden of American Heroes, an outdoor sculpture park envisioned as home to statues of 250 Americans of note. The location places the project in one of Washington, D.C.’s most sensitive federal landscapes, near the Jefferson Memorial and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.
The selection immediately raises a practical question: can the project proceed without Congress? According to the Washington Post, large portions of West Potomac Park fall within the “reserve” area governed by the Commemorative Works Act, which means any new memorial project would likely require congressional approval as well as review by federal planning bodies. White House officials have previously said they will follow “all legal requirements and approvals” for the garden, but have not clarified whether that includes a vote in Congress.
The law presents another obstacle. Under the Commemorative Works Act, commemorative projects generally cannot be authorized until 25 years after the event or death being memorialized. That timing could complicate proposed sculptures of Kobe Bryant, Whitney Houston, and Antonin Scalia, all of whom died fewer than 25 years ago.
The Washington Post also reported, citing anonymous sources familiar with plans that have not been publicly disclosed, that the administration has selected architect Michael Curtis as lead designer. The reported team also includes architects Michael Franck and CJ Howard, along with sculptor Brian Kramer and urban planner Dhiru Thadani. None responded to the paper’s inquiries about the reported appointments.
For now, the garden remains both a design proposal and a test case for how far a presidential monument can advance on federally controlled land. Its next steps will likely depend as much on law and process as on the politics behind the project.
