President Donald Trump announced Friday that the long-planned National Garden of American Heroes will be built in West Potomac Park, placing one of his signature commemorative projects along the Washington waterfront near the National Mall.
The site, known for its open green space and its proximity to the Tidal Basin’s cherry blossoms, would become the home of a statue garden honoring major figures from American history. Trump announced the location on Truth Social as part of a broader push to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026.
“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,” Trump wrote.
The project dates to Trump’s first term, when he signed a June 2020 executive order calling for the creation of a national statue garden by July 4, 2026. He promoted the idea that summer during a speech at Mount Rushmore, casting it as an answer to “cancel culture” and “angry mobs” seeking to “wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values, and indoctrinate our children.”
Those remarks came amid the nationwide unrest that followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, a period that accelerated the removal of Confederate monuments and symbols in cities across the country, explained The Hill.
The project stalled after Trump left office. Congress did not fund the initiative before President Joe Biden took office in 2021, and the Biden administration later canceled the plan. Trump revived the garden after returning to the White House, signing a new executive order intended to restart and speed up the effort.
The National Endowment for the Humanities has said the statues must be life-size and made from durable materials such as marble, granite, bronze, copper, or brass.
Trump has described the garden as a sweeping tribute to American achievement, saying it would honor “Founding Fathers, Military Warriors, Religious Leaders, Civil Rights Champions, World Class Athletes, Artists, Entertainers” and other notable figures.
“The people of America (and the World!) will come here to learn and be inspired by the ‘Greats,’” he wrote.
The announcement makes the garden one of the most visible pieces of the administration’s semiquincentennial planning. Other proposed 250th anniversary events include an IndyCar Series race around the National Mall and a UFC event on the White House grounds this summer.
President Trump Announces West Potomac Park as Site for National Garden of American Heroes
