First monument honoring women greenlit for National Mall

The National Mall is finally getting a memorial to the women who fought for voting rights, and visitors to D.C. are wondering what took so long. 

Federal planners Thursday approved the Women’s Suffrage National Monument, authorizing its placement on the National Mall. 

The monument is the product of two congressional acts — one signed by President Donald Trump in 2020 establishing the project and another signed by former President Joe Biden in January securing its home on federal land. 

The National Capital Planning Commission voted last Thursday to approved the placement of the memorial near the intersection of 19th Street and Constitution Avenue in Constitution Gardens, which is between the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and World War II Memorial. 

The commission considered four potential locations before giving its final approval for a site known as Constitution Gardens East.

“The location provides thematic connections to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence Memorial and the Vietnam Women’s Memorial and a visual connection to the Washington Monument. It would complement the National Mall Plan and the Trust for the National Mall’s vision for Constitution Gardens as a place of 24-hour activity throughout all seasons,” the commission said in a press release released following its approval.

Some visitors around the Mall were surprised this didn’t happen sooner. 

“I think it’s really good,” said Chloe De Wouters, a tourist from Switzerland. “There are so many monuments here, and none are about women.” 

The Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation is responsible for fundraising, design selection, and construction. The project will rely entirely on private donations and is estimated to cost around $100 million. 

A national design competition is set for 2026, a foundation spokesperson told The Wash, and construction will begin once funding and design approval are secured. 

No major monument on the Mall is dedicated to women’s history, aside from the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, which honors the nurses who served during the war.

Some visitors said they hope the monument reflects a wide range of women who shaped the suffrage movement, not just the most famous figures.  

Glennis Warsaki of Virginia said the monument should include women whose work for equality extended beyond voting rights. 

“Evangeline Booth should be in it,” Warsaki said. “She started the work of the Salvation Army in the United States, and nobody ever mentions her.” 

The monument aims to tell a centuries-long story, from the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention to the Silent Sentinels who picketed the White House.  

For visitors like William Kelly, a Washington-area worker, placing the monument on the Mall is long overdue.  

“Women have been through a lot, and they deserve the recognition they get,” he said. “I’ll absolutely go see it.”