Lawsuit Seeks to Halt Blue Resurfacing of Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool

A federal lawsuit challenged the Trump administration’s blue resurfacing of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, arguing that one of the National Mall’s most recognizable landscapes was being altered without the preservation review required for historic property work.

The Cultural Landscape Foundation and its founder, Charles A. Birnbaum, filed the case in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and sought declaratory and injunctive relief to stop further resurfacing. The complaint said the Reflecting Pool, completed in 1924, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as part of the National Mall Historic District, and that the work began without the Section 106 review required by the National Historic Preservation Act.

Section 106 requires federal agencies to take into account the effects of their undertakings on historic properties and give the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation a reasonable opportunity to comment before proceeding. The plaintiffs argued that obligation was ignored when the government began applying a vivid blue coating to the pool’s basin without consulting required parties or allowing public input.

The complaint described the pool’s dark gray, achromatic surface as an intentional design feature, not an incidental one. According to the filing, the dark tile was meant to create the illusion of greater depth and a more profound reflection, while the pool itself was designed to mirror the sky, the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. The foundation said the Reflecting Pool runs 2,029 linear feet and is among the world’s most iconic designed landscapes.

The lawsuit cast the dispute as more than a fight over color. It raised a broader question of presidential power over federally managed public space, especially on a site that carries national symbolism and attracts intense public scrutiny. The filing said the resurfacing was directed under Donald J. Trump and proceeded in a way that sidestepped Congress’s mandatory preservation procedures.

The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee. The plaintiffs also sought a temporary restraining order to pause the project while litigation continued, aiming to halt work before the historic basin could be permanently transformed.