Trump Announces Washington Site for National Garden of American Heroes

President Donald Trump said on May 15 that the planned National Garden of American Heroes will be built in West Potomac Park in Washington.

The announcement advances a long-running proposal to create a large outdoor monument space honoring historical American figures.

“I am proud to announce the site of the NATIONAL GARDEN OF AMERICAN HEROES,” Trump wrote in a May 15 post on Truth Social.

“This magnificent exhibition of statues will be located in West Potomac Park, which we are transforming into one of the World’s most beautiful public spaces.”

The garden would transform what Trump described as a “totally BARREN field of Prime Waterfront Real Estate.”

“When finished, West Potomac Park will be a World Class Masterpiece with elegant Landscaping, and adorned with Beautiful Statues, and be yet another one of my great projects to make Washington, D.C., the Safest and Most Beautiful Capital in the World,” he wrote.

The proposed park would include 250 life-size statues honoring historical American figures from politics, sports, science, entertainment, religion, and civil rights.

The individuals listed in the planning documents include President Abraham Lincoln, Amelia Earhart, Kobe Bryant, Muhammad Ali, Christopher Columbus, and astronaut Sally Ride.

Trump said the garden would feature the statues of “Founding Fathers, Military Warriors, Religious Leaders, Civil Rights Champions, World Class Athletes, Artists, Entertainers, and MORE.”

The project is part of the administration’s broader effort to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding in 2026.

“The people of America (and the World!) will come here to learn and be inspired by the ‘Greats,’” Trump wrote.

“The National Garden of American Heroes is one more project we are undertaking to honor the 250th Birthday of the Greatest Nation on Earth.”

Trump first introduced the National Garden of American Heroes during a speech on July 3, 2020, at Mount Rushmore during his first term in office.

During that speech, Trump proposed creating “a vast outdoor park that will feature the statues of the greatest Americans to ever live.” He later formally established the project through a 2021 executive order shortly before leaving office.

President Joe Biden revoked the order in May 2021, but Trump reinstated related executive actions after returning to office in January 2025.

Monument Projects Expand in Washington

The Trump administration has advanced other large-scale monument and beautification plans around Washington.

Last month, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts voted unanimously to advance the preliminary design of a proposed triumphal arch backed by Trump near Memorial Bridge.

The proposed structure would stand 250 feet tall on a man-made island, overseen by the National Park Service, near the Potomac River on the Virginia side of the Memorial Bridge.

Design plans include a torch-bearing figure resembling the Statue of Liberty, gold-colored eagles and lions, and inscriptions reading “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice for All.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the monument was intended to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding and encourage patriotism.

“Great nations build beautiful structures that cultivate national pride and love of country, and this triumphal arch should be a project that all Americans, all political persuasions, can support,” Leavitt said.

The proposal has also drawn criticism and legal opposition. A group of veterans and a historian filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block the project, arguing that the structure would interfere with historic sightlines between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House.

Trump announced the proposal for a triumphal arch in October 2025 as part of a broader effort to reshape public spaces in the nation’s capital.

Jackson Richman contributed to this report.