Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
Wikipedia (en)
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is the largest of the many reflecting pools in Washington, D.C. Dedicated in 1922, it is a 2,028-by-167-foot (618 by 51 m) concrete-bottomed roughly rectangular pool that as of 2012 holds about 4 million US gallons (15,000 m3) of water. The pool is located on the National Mall, in between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.
The Reflecting Pool attracts 24 million visitors annually. It is lined by walking paths and trees on both sides. Depending on the viewer's vantage point, it reflects the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Mall's trees, and the sky.
Many marches and events have been held at the Reflecting Pool, such as the March on Washington and the Commitment March. A celebration of the then soon to occur inauguration of Barack Obama named the We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial was held in the area on January 18, 2009.
The pool was originally built with a bottom of asphalt and tile, and was supplied from the city's drinking water supply, and in its initial plans was going to be cruciform, although this never came to fruition. Starting in 2009, the pool was completely rebuilt and the bottom was replaced with concrete slabs supported by timber pilings. The Reflecting Pool was also changed to be supplied with water from the Tidal Basin, instead of the earlier-used D.C. potable water. The pool was planned to be used as an ice rink when originally built, but is no longer used in that manner.
In 2026, the pool was resurfaced at the order of president Donald Trump with a blue polyurea coating, and a nanobubbler filtration system was added. After a few days, the coating began to peel and the Reflecting Pool sustained an algal bloom. Trump claimed, without evidence, that acts of vandalism caused the coating to peel. The U.S. Justice Department later admitted in a legal filing that the renovation had been "hasty and botched", and the problems were not caused by vandalism.
