Federal filing cites vandalism allegations at Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool

A federal court filing alleges a sharp knife or razor was used to cut caulk at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The pool, completed in 1924, is part of the Lincoln Memorial grounds on the National Mall and sits within the National Register-listed National Mall Historic District.

Marian Anderson’s 1939 concert, Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech, the Kennedy memorial service and the 1967 anti-Vietnam War rally all took place at the Reflecting Pool.

Separate litigation filed by The Cultural Landscape Foundation and Charles A. Birnbaum alleged the pool’s historic character was being altered by a vivid blue resurfacing and that no consulting parties were notified or allowed to participate in the Section 106 review required under the National Historic Preservation Act. The National Park Service said the closure for lining and repair began April 10, 2026, and was scheduled to continue until June 10, 2026, at 7 p.m., with work aimed at cleaning the pool, repairing joints and installing lining material.

The Reflecting Pool rehabilitation is the National Park Service’s largest ongoing project under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, with proposed improvements that include new permanent walkways along the north and south sides, refurbished paving, site furnishings and lighting, and repairs to structural deficiencies caused by differential soil settlement. NPS engineering analysis shows those settlement problems have compromised the pool’s structural system.

In June, Sen. Richard Blumenthal wrote to the Interior Department about the Reflecting Pool contracts, saying the project had been awarded through a noncompetitive process. His letter also cited peeling coating and an algae bloom, and said President Donald Trump had suggested the pool might need to be drained again.