DC Preservation League

08/12/2026

Message from DCPL Member Myrna Sislen:

I am a lifelong resident of the District of Columbia, using this platform to reach out to friends, family, colleagues, and like-minded strangers for help!

The unprecedented and ongoing efforts by the current administration to alter some of the District of Columbia’s most cherished cultural and historic resources—East Potomac Park, Potomac Park, the Reflecting Pool, the East Wing of the The White House, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, and The Kennedy Center—are beyond offensive.

The proposal for a Triumphal Arch in Memorial Circle violates the sacred vista between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial. It is an abomination and cannot be tolerated.

This is why I’m stepping forward to help the DC Preservation League raise the funds it needs to combat these egregious efforts to redesign our beloved Capital City. I hope you will help too!

, please donate, share, fight back!

Greetings! And thank you for taking the time to visit this GoFu… Myrna Sislen needs your support for Fight Back! Protect DC's Cultural and Historic Resources.

08/07/2026

“Congress, not the president, must authorize the project, the court ruled. The order will take effect in two weeks, allowing the White House to appeal to the Supreme Court.”

https://wapo.st/4hlvuz6

Congress, not the president, must authorize the project, the court ruled. The order will take effect in two weeks, allowing the White House to appeal to the Supreme Court.

08/07/2026

“Under normal circumstances, career staff would have dismissed as laughable a proposal to paint the Eisenhower building, because of the risk to it and the prospect of steep maintenance costs that the GSA can ill-afford.” says Dorothy Robyn, former General Services Administration Public Buildings Commissioner

https://bit.ly/4hUmfG9

The latest Trump renovation project would violate a basic rule of building maintenance.

08/06/2026

Let’s be real about this…Section 106 consultation matters. These issues could have been avoided, minimized, or mitigated if a cohort of experts had been involved in this process.

Instead, NPS has a problem because of a “solution” that was never vetted.

Trump has lashed out at U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro after she dropped vandalism cases and blamed damage at the pool on rushed and flawed work by a contractor.

08/03/2026

There are more than 200 properties identified that are impacted in some way by this Arch. Properties as far away as the Washington National Cathedral, which sits more than five miles away will have its view sheds compromised because of the sheer height and mass of this unnecessary insertion into our cultural landscape.

There has been no look at alternative sites, no efforts to avoid this impact, and no efforts to minimize and mitigate.

Stay tuned for way to comment.

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The 250-foot-tall edifice would alter views across Washington and Arlington Cemetery.

08/02/2026

**Kennedy Center Legal Update**

The government has agreed not to move to dismiss the case and to instead file an answer to our complaint that can be found here - https://bit.ly/kc72026. This means the case will proceed, allowing the court—and our coalition of Plaintiffs—to monitor the Center’s construction activities.

Center management is preparing three options for the Board to consider at its upcoming meeting, now expected in the first half of August: (1) a full closure during construction, (2) a partial closure with limited public access, or (3) a series of phased closures targeting the most urgent repairs first while maintaining more onsite programming. Notably, the government has stated in its most recent status report that there are no current plans to demolish the Center, erect a new building, or materially alter its exterior.

The court is continuing to consider how frequently the government must provide status updates, indicating it will set a schedule for future reports after the August Board meeting has occurred. In the meantime, the court ordered the government to file its answer and directed the parties to file a further status report within five days of the Board’s meeting.

Please consider supporting DCPL's dedicated Kennedy Center Legal Fund. Given the position of this case, DCPL's legal team has amassed almost $1.5 million in fees, and with two additional years of monitoring construction activities, public support is necessary to sustain these efforts. Many thanks for your support! Click here to donate: https://bit.ly/DCPLKCFund

Photo: Carol M. Highsmith

07/31/2026

** EEOB Painting UPDATE***

Cultural Heritage Partners and DC Preservation League filed a request for an emergency hearing and injunction at 11:30 last night. The court scheduled a conference of legal counsel at 3:30 PM today.

RESULT:

By order of the federal court, no painting of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building or extraction of stone from the building may occur before the Court rules. The Court directed the Department of Justice to submit additional briefing on the issues raised in Plaintiffs' motion.

The government's response is due on or before August 6. Plaintiffs' reply is due on or before August 13. A hearing is tentatively scheduled for August 18 before U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich.

"We are grateful for the Court's prompt action and appreciate the opportunity to further demonstrate why painting this National Historic Landmark--for any reason-- would be both unlawful and inappropriate. The President is only a temporary steward of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building; the American people are its permanent owners." Greg Werkheiser, founding partner, Cultural Heritage Partners

07/30/2026

Help our EEOB paint story beat Ben Affleck for TOP Story in People Magazine! Comment and Share!

Preservationists are seeking an emergency injunction to stop the Trump administration from testing paint on the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, arguing the work could harm the historic landmark.

07/24/2026

"Every American who has any place in their heart that is historic or culturally significant to them should be concerned about this attempt to gut historic preservation protections," said Greg Werkheiser, founding partner at the law firm Cultural Heritage Partners.

The public will no longer have a right to input on the historic properties built snd maintained by our tax dollars.

A council packed with Trump appointees is poised to rewrite historic preservation rules. Critics say that could help him build his D.C. arch faster — and endanger important sites across the country.

07/24/2026

“It is a building that was constructed for the ages,” Stephen Kelley says.
�Kelley is one of more than two dozen experts in preservation, materials and heritage arguing in district court against the Trump administration’s plan to paint the massive EEOB white, to match the nearby White House. It is unnecessary, costly and it could damage the stone, they say, leading to a “taxpayers’ nightmare,” as the building would have to be regularly repainted, keeping it potentially under scaffolding in perpetuity.

- Share and Flood the comments section at WaPo to show your support for preserving the EEOB!

https://wapo.st/4fivPB9

The administration’s proposal risks harming both the historic building and the system of reviews that protects structures like it.