The 2025 presidential order to revive classical architecture in federal buildings caused great turmoil in the field. This article aims to bring two contributions to unraveling this matter. The first is to recall a long historical battle for public commissions in the country through the analysis of midcentury historical texts and documents. The second is to examine a possible combination of “styles” by looking into the postwar Gateway Arch project in St. Louis, Missouri, and its controversial architectural character. As a result, the pressure on federal agencies opened space for a new cosmopolitan, multicultural generation of design-related experts.