Trump Painted It Blue. Henry Bacon Wanted It Invisible: A History of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool (ghostsofdc.org)

submitted 9 hours ago by WesternInfidels@feddit.online to c/history@lemmy.world

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Bacon’s idea was a mirror. A long, narrow, shallow plane of water aligned exactly between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument so that, depending on where you stood, the marble Lincoln dissolved into the sky and the obelisk multiplied into two. Roughly 2,030 feet long, 167 feet wide, 18 inches deep at the edges and 30 inches in the middle. The whole point of those measurements was that they should vanish.

This is a key part of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool history that often gets glossed over. The pool is not a swimming pool, despite what one architect told NPR last month about “pool guys” refinishing it like Mar-a-Lago. The pool is an optical instrument.

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[-] turdas@suppo.fi 9 points 8 hours ago

Excuse the slop but I wanted to see an illustration of what this might look like, and I can see how someone like Trump would find the second picture an improvement.

[-] tal@lemmy.today 2 points 7 hours ago

Assuming that Mar-a-Lago is what he likes, maybe needs some gold-colored sunloungers to contrast with the blue water:

https://www.maralagoclub.com/spa-sports-recreation

The Beach Club extends the Mar-a-Lago Club property to include the two most beautiful acres of direct access private beach anywhere on the East Coast. Each member and guest that arrives at the extraordinary Beach Club will have an oceanfront experience unlike anything ever had before. The complex includes a 100 foot by 50 foot pool, whirlpool, a private beach and a beautiful full-service beachfront Bistro serving salads, sandwiches, grilled specialties and beverages.

this post was submitted on 13 May 2026

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