President Donald Trump’s planned 250-foot-tall Triumphal Arch near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., would cast shadows across Arlington National Cemetery, including the graves of American veterans and prominent figures, according to a recent analysis using a detailed 3D digital model.

The model examined shadows cast by the proposed monument at dawn on May 12, one of the days when the shadow would linger longest over the cemetery grounds. The shadow is projected to cover the John F. Kennedy Memorial, briefly shading the eternal flame, for approximately nine minutes shortly after sunrise. It would also pass over the Military Women’s Memorial and the graves of several Supreme Court justices, including Thurgood Marshall, William H. Rehnquist, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. For more than 15 minutes, the shadow would fall across headstones of veterans from World War I and II. Overall, the shadow would touch more than 2,000 graves during this timeframe.

Over the course of a typical year, the shadow of the arch would fall on burial sites on 284 days, encompassing more than 75,000 gravesites. These include those of veterans from conflicts such as the Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I and II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, as well as headstones marking the resting places of formerly enslaved people. While the shadow would often recede before the cemetery’s 8 a.m. opening, on 26 days it would persist after that time. The shadow would also affect other prominent memorials, including the Kennedy Memorial for 50 days and the Military Women’s Memorial for 109 days annually.

Administrators of the planned project argue the arch will enhance visitors’ experience. White House spokesman Davis Ingle described the arch as an iconic new landmark for the capital and the world. The Interior Department, citing its own modeling, said only a small section of the cemetery would be affected for fewer than two weeks each year, mostly during the early minutes after sunrise when shadows are elongated and intermixed with tree shadows. However, the agency’s released visual simulations covered fewer days and time periods than the independent analysis, without detailed methodological explanations.

The arch’s proposed size and placement about a quarter-mile from Arlington National Cemetery have drawn criticism from historians, architects, preservationists, and veterans’ advocates. Neil Flanagan, an architectural historian, said the monument would disrupt the carefully planned spatial composition of Washington’s monumental core, which was designed to maintain open and distinct “jewels” such as the Lincoln Memorial and the cemetery. Micki McElya, a history professor specializing in Arlington National Cemetery, described the symbolism of the shadow as “undeniable” and unsettling, emphasizing that it is the fact of the shadow’s presence rather than its brief visibility that is troubling.

Paul Eaton, a retired Army major general whose parents are interred at Arlington, called the shadow “a sacrilege.” He and the veterans’ advocacy group VoteVets have opposed the project, warning that families visiting the cemetery may find the shadow distressing. Columbia University professor Karla Rothstein noted that while shadows in public spaces are not inherently negative, the arch’s triumphal symbolism imposing its shadow on a landscape dedicated to sacrifice carries political and experiential implications.

Legal challenges against the arch have been filed by three Vietnam War veterans and a historic preservationist, who argue that the monument would detract from the cemetery’s solemn atmosphere. A federal judge is currently reviewing the case. Meanwhile, the administration is seeking to ease the height restrictions imposed on structures in Washington, which currently limit building heights to 130 feet—well below the proposed arch’s 250-foot stature.

Trump has insisted the arch be taller than Paris’s 164-foot Arc de Triomphe. The National Capital Planning Commission, now staffed with Trump appointees, is expected to approve the project by early November, with construction planned to begin soon after.

Beyond the cemetery, the arch’s shadow would also extend across other notable landmarks. The Memorial Bridge and various presidential memorials to the east, including the Abraham Lincoln Memorial and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, would be shaded at different times of the year, sometimes touching monuments honoring assassinated presidents and veterans of the Vietnam and Korean wars.

The presence of an eternal flame atop the arch, as outlined in recently released designs, adds complexity to the symbolism. On certain days, such as Jacqueline Kennedy’s birthday, the arch’s flame would be visible while simultaneously casting a shadow over Kennedy’s own eternal flame and gravesite—a fact that critics say conflicts with prior assurances made to Kennedy’s widow about the perpetual visibility of her husband’s memorial.