Reflecting Pool

Union representative concerned about safety as workers rush to finish repainting DC pool before 250th celebrationsWorkers renovating one of Washington DC’s most historically symbolic sites in a project ordered by Donald Trump may be risking their safety as they race to finish on time for the US’s 250th anniversary celebrations, a union monitoring the site has warned.Trade union scrutiny has focused on the reflecting pool on the US capital’s National Mall – scene of Martin Luther King’s 1963 “I have a dream speech” – after it was drained of water and fenced off from the public to allow contractors the chance to upgrade it by 4 July. Continue reading...

The Cultural Landscape Foundation seeks to block the replacement of pool’s ‘gray stone’ appearanceA historic preservation group on Monday filed a lawsuit seeking to halt Donald Trump’s ongoing renovation to the Lincoln Memorial’s reflecting pool, the latest in a string of court challenges to efforts to remake Washington DC landmarks from the US president and former real estate developer.The lawsuit, filed by the Cultural Landscape Foundation, alleged the renovation violates the National Historic Preservation Act, a law passed by Congress in 1996 that outlines procedures for changes to historic properties.Guardian staff contributed Continue reading...

A company Trump has used for work at his Virginia golf course was awarded $6.9m to paint the iconic attractionDonald Trump’s latest beautification plan for Washington DC – the restoration of the 2,000ft-long reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial – has met been with claims that a $6.9m contract to carry out the project was hastily handed out to a company that renovated a swimming pool at the president’s Virginia golf course.The New York Times reported that the no-bid contract for the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool was given to Atlantic Industrial Coatings, based in New Canton, Virginia, on 3 April – despite company records’ showing it has not previously been awarded a federal contract. Continue reading...