Vanity projects: A history of building for power
Maria Sandu
The term "vanity project" is having a moment. It tends to surface whenever US President Donald Trump floats another plan to give Washington, D.C. an architectural — and costly — facelift. Whether it's a $100-million triumphal arch , a billion‑dollar White House ballroom or a $13-million redesign of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, each proposal revives the questions: What counts as a political vanity project, and why do leaders pursue them? First, not every expansive or expensive endeavor —
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