Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool coating peels days after reopening
Fresh blue coating peeled from the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool days after reopening, while algae returned and a no-bid $1.7 million contract drew new scrutiny.
Flaps of blue coating were peeling from the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool just days after it reopened, turning one of Washington’s most visible civic landmarks into a fresh test of federal workmanship and oversight. Photos and video showed the American flag blue material lifting from the bottom of the pool and drifting near the surface as crews worked to deal with a new algae bloom that had turned the water green.
The National Park Service had closed the pool and adjacent sidewalks on April 10 for Reflecting Pool lining and repair work, with the closure scheduled to run until June 10 at 7 p.m. The agency said the shutdown allowed workers to clean the pool, repair joints and install lining material as part of a broader rehabilitation effort for the reflecting pool and surrounding area. The pool reopened on June 6, only to show visible deterioration within days.
The speed of the failure raised sharper questions because the Reflecting Pool is not an ordinary water feature. The Lincoln Memorial was dedicated in 1922, and the pool was completed in 1924 as part of the 1902 McMillan Plan’s ceremonial Mall axis extending toward the Potomac River. Its design was meant to reinforce the grandeur of the National Mall, making any visible defect instantly legible to the public and politically potent to the White House.
The coating problem came alongside a separate algae outbreak that again turned the pool green. The National Park Service said its team was vacuuming dead algae from parts of the pool, and workers used 12% hydrogen peroxide to combat the bloom. That combination of peeling lining and recurring algae put the project’s execution under a harder spotlight, especially after coverage described the work as a multi-million dollar renovation.
The politics around the pool have been overt, too. The White House posted a May 8 video titled “Restoring the Reflecting Pool,” and another video on April 23 said President Trump was “making the Reflecting Pool beautiful again.” A no-bid $1.7 million water-purification contract tied to John J. Cafaro, a longtime Trump supporter and donor, added to the scrutiny. The administration has framed the renovation within the nation’s 250th anniversary year and Flag Day messaging, making the peeling blue coating, and the questions around who signed off on the work, all the more conspicuous.
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