The concept for the National World War I Memorial was first presented to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) in October 2016. For the next three years, and over the course of 30 public hearings and 15 inter-agency working group meetings, the design team revised and reworked the concept and details of the memorial in coordination with the CFA, World War I Centennial Commission, National Park Service, National Capital Planning Commission, D.C. State Historic Preservation Officer, and various other stakeholders. In September 2019, the CFA awarded final design approval.
