President Donald Trump is actively considering an idyllic stretch of land along the Potomac River in Washington, DC, as the home of his proposed National Garden of American Heroes, a life-size sculpture garden that would feature 250 historically significant figures, including the likes of Kobe Bryant, Amelia Earhart, Whitney Houston, Muhammad Ali, Christopher Columbus, Alex Trebek and Sally Ride, among others.
A source with knowledge of the project told CNN that while no final decision has been made, West Potomac and East Potomac parks, patches of land a short distance from the White House, are being looked at.
In an interview with The New York Times last week, Trump hinted at this plan.
“That’s going to be most likely right on the Potomac River … an area that is touching the golf course,” the president said referencing the golf course at East Potomac Park “That hasn’t been a final decision, but it’s getting close.”
South Dakota, Philadelphia and Washington, DC, were among the cities that sources close to the project say were being considered.
The sculpture garden has been a personal endeavor of the president’s now five years in the making with many fits and starts.
While President Joe Biden revoked Trump’s first-term executive order calling for the creation of the garden, Trump reissued it early last year, calling for it to be completed “as expeditiously as possible.”
Congress made its first steps to fund the project earlier this year – the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” appropriated $40 million to the Department of Interior to establish and maintain the garden.
However, project has faced also uncertainty amid serious questions about the timeline, cost, location, and reception within the art community.