Completed in 1923 and envisioned by Lincoln Memorial designer Henry Bacon as a “mirror” between the Lincoln and Washington monuments, the Reflecting Pool has been as problematic as it is beautiful since its inception. Built basically on a swamp, the pool leaked immediately and has been the source of multiple attempts at reconstruction and restoration, including a 2011 plan to use more than 2,000 pilings to shore up the pool only to have an enormous algae bloom appear. In 2026 a plan supported by U.S. Pres. Donald Trump saw the bottom of the pool painted “American flag blue.” Within days the algae was back and the paint was peeling.
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