I agree Joseph. We are having a similar discussion on the destruction of the East Wing of the People's House that you might be interested in joining. A lot of that discussion concerns the horror of what's occured. It is important as you state that we need to be alert to this Arc de Trumphe which is in no way acceptable to the majority of the American people and we as an organization need to speak up to stop it.
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[Samuel] [Duff Combs] [AIA, NCARB]
[Architect/Owner]
[Combs & Combs, AIA, Architecture, Interiors, Art]
[Anchorage] [AK]
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Original Message:
Sent: 10-31-2025 12:14 PM
From: Joseph Catalano, AIA
Subject: The Proposed Arch
Since historic significance and recognition can be for either architectural or cultural reasons, it is fair for us to speak about cultural values here in this light, and not just ditch it under the guise of "politics."
When in the future, if we have failed and become an Autocracy, then a backwards-looking arch named for Trump will turn out to be appropriate. In the meantime, self-aggrandizement like this has never had a place in our Democracy or in the many monuments in Washington. That's just culturally speaking.