Trump's Plan to Paint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Blue Sparks Lawsuit

A Washington, D.C.-based education and advocacy nonprofit sued the U.S. Department of the Interior over renovation work on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The Cultural Landscape Foundation claims the basin’s “American flag blue” color is a character-defining feature that cannot be altered without federal review under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. The nonprofit seeks a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to stop the work. The Department of the Interior awarded a no-bid contract to waterproof and paint the pool. President Donald Trump said he helped drive the overhaul by asking contractors for a “good price” and chose the shade of blue himself after being discouraged from a Caribbean turquoise. The pool opened in 1924 and has had sporadic renovations, including a prior effort to address leakage problems.

"The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), which was founded in 1998 to better connect Americans to the nation's landscape heritage, backed a lawsuit on April 12 in the U.S. District Court in Washington claiming that painting the basin of the Reflecting Pool "American flag blue" "violates federal law.""

"In its suit, which was filed by the nonprofit Washington Litigation Group, TCLF argues that the Reflecting Pool's color is a character-defining feature of the site and cannot be changed without following federal review processes under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. TCLF is seeking a temporary restraining order as well as a preliminary injunction to stop work."

"In early April, the Department of the Interior awarded a no-bid contract to the Virginia firm Atlantic Industrial Coatings to waterproof and paint the pool. Details of the development emerged at an Oval Office event about healthcare on April 23 in which President Donald Trump claimed to have spearheaded the overhaul by asking contractors he knew for "a good price.""

""The design intent, to create a reflective surface that is subordinate, is fundamental to the solemn and hallowed visual and spatial connection between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. The Reflecting Pool was opened in 1924 and has remained aesthetically consistent over a century of sporadic renovations-most recently under the Obama administration, which spend $35 million trying to fix leakage problems.""

Read at Artnet News