The reflecting pool is a perfect microcosm of how Trump thinks and operates. He sees a project that was tackled by Barack Obama, and he knows, “that he can do a better job.” He brags to the press that he can fix the problem in no time. He then throws out a ridiculously low price for the project. ($1.7 million) Then he finds one of his cronies, an officer, a no-bid contract. There is no proper oversight. There’s no bidding process. There is no expert analysis. There’s only Trump making decisions by the seat of his pants.
Trump brags about how quickly and efficiently he fixed the problem, only to find out it wasn’t fixed. He throws more money at the problem. Then he begins to blame imaginary enemies who have sabotaged him at every step. The only person who sabotages Donald Trump is Donald Trump. This whole ordeal is an excellent example of hubris and incompetence.
History of the Reflecting Pool
In the late 19th century, the Potomac River regularly flooded the western edge of Washington, D.C. To solve this, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredged the river and used the silt to create the land that now holds the Lincoln Memorial and the reflecting pool.
When architect Henry Bacon designed the Lincoln Memorial in the early 20th century, he envisioned a grand water feature to complement it. He drew inspiration from the canals at Versailles and the Taj Mahal, wanting a long, still body of water that would dramatically reflect the monument.
Construction & Early Days (1922–1923)
The pool was constructed by the temporary “Main Navy and Munitions Buildings” (which sat right alongside it until they were demolished in 1970).
- The Design: It was built roughly 2,029 feet long and 167 feet wide.
- The Depth: Bacon intentionally designed it to warp the perspective of visitors. It slopes from about 3 feet deep at the edges to over 2 feet deep in the center, ensuring a perfectly flat, glass-like reflection of both the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.
- Early Uses: In its early decades, the pool wasn’t just for looking at—people ice skated on it in the winter, raced model boats, and it even famously hosted an amphibious airplane landing in 1926.
The Backdrop to History
The pool quickly evolved from an architectural feature into a literal and symbolic stage for American democracy. Because it offered a massive open space flanked by major monuments, it became the natural gathering point for historic demonstrations:
- 1939: Marian Anderson’s Concert: After being barred from singing at Constitution Hall because of her race, the legendary African American contralto performed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday, with a crowd of 75,000 lining the reflecting pool.
- 1963: The March on Washington: Perhaps the most famous moment in the pool’s history. Over 250,000 people gathered around its waters to hear Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. deliver his “I Have a Dream” speech, creating one of the most defining visual images of the Civil Rights Movement.
- 1967: Anti-Vietnam War Protests: Upwards of 100,000 protestors gathered at the pool before marching across the Potomac to the Pentagon.
Decades of Decay and the Modern Era
Because the pool was built on reclaimed tidal marshland, it was plagued by structural issues almost from the start.
Without a solid foundation extending to bedrock, the massive concrete basin began to settle unevenly and crack. By the late 20th century, it was leaking millions of gallons of water into the surrounding soil every month, requiring constant, expensive refills with city drinking water. The lack of a modern circulation or filtration system meant the water frequently became stagnant, dirty, and choked with algae.
This long-term decay is what ultimately triggered the 2010–2012 Obama administration overhaul, which finally anchored the pool to bedrock, updated its plumbing, and transitioned it to filtered water drawn from the Tidal Basin—ensuring the historic vista remains intact for future generations. Obama spent about $35 million trying to fix the pool.
