The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has completed its renovation under Donald Trump’s administration and has begun to fill with water.
The president said the work to paint the shallow basin a deep “American flag blue” was finished on Wednesday, and a court filing from his administration indicated it would be filled by Sunday.
On Thursday evening, the White House announced that the water for the reflecting pool had started flowing.
“The water is ON, the Reflecting Pool is reflecting, and D.C. is looking better than ever,” the White House wrote on X. “We are so back. THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP.”
Trump has estimated the project’s cost at between $1.5 million and $2 million, yet records show that at least $14.8 million in contracts have been awarded for the work.
The president announced the project in April during an unrelated Oval Office appearance, saying he was inspired by complaints from a friend visiting from Germany who called the pool dark and disgusting.
The project is another way for Trump to leave his mark on the city, following the demolition of the White House East Wing to build a large ballroom, and plans to create an arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
The reflecting pool, which is more than 2,000 feet (610 meters) long, was originally built in the 1920s. It sits between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument and is one of the most iconic sites in Washington. Martin Luther King, Jr. famously gave his “I Have a Dream” speech there in 1963.
The basin held about 6.5 million gallons of water — roughly as much as 10 Olympic-size swimming pools — before a 2012 renovation, according to the National Park Service.
Under that earlier renovation, the pool was reengineered with a circulation and filtration system so that instead of using the city’s drinking water, it draws river water from the nearby Tidal Basin. Washington and its surrounding states are facing drought conditions.
Critics have said the Republican president is spending too much time and attention on his pet projects and not enough on issues that voters care about, like the cost of living, in the run-up to the November elections. Others have said he wants the reflecting pool to look more like a swimming pool.
Last month, a Washington-based nonprofit called the Cultural Landscape Foundation filed a suit asking a judge to force the Trump administration to stop work on the “dark grey” Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, saying the new paint color suggested a “theme park.”
An order in the case hasn’t come yet, and on Wednesday, the Trump administration notified the court that the work was complete.
A message seeking information from the Interior Department, which oversees the National Park Service, wasn’t immediately answered.
Rachel Dobkin has contributed to this report.
