Video

Reflecting Pool Reopens

August 29, 2012

Transcript

 IT'S A WELCOME SIGHT FOR VISITORS AND RESIDENTS ALIKE...AND THE RESTORATION OF ONE OF THE MOST STORIED VISTAS IN THE NATION'S CAPITAL...AFTER MORE THAN A YEAR AND A HALF, WORK CREWS ARE FINALLY PUTTING THE FINISHING TOUCHES ON THE 33-MILLION DOLLAR RENOVATION OF THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL REFLECTING POOL. AND THE BEST NEWS FOR TOURISTS COMING TO D-C AT THE END OF THE SUMMER...THE AREA AROUND THE POOL IS ON SCHEDULE FOR COMPLETION JUST IN TIME FOR THE LABOR DAY WEEKEND.

"The Mall is meant to be seen in one big vista from the Lincoln Memorial all the way down to the Capitol. And right now the construction of the Lincoln Reflecting Pool is impeding the view...and it's a construction project so it's not as beautiful as our visitors expect."

THAT SHOULD ALL CHANGE BY THE TIME THIS YEAR'S LATE SUMMER AND AUTUMN VISITORS ARRIVE. AND MAKE NO MISTAKE...THIS IS NOT JUST A FACELIFT, THIS IS A FUNDAMENTAL REDESIGN.

"The reconstruction of the Reflecting Pool wasnít done just for aesthetic reasons...it was done because the Reflecting Pool was sinking, and was leaking 500,000 gallons of water a week."

BUT NOW THAT SINKING, LEAKY OLD POOL HAS BEEN COMPLETELY REPLACED BY ONE OF THE LARGEST POURED CONCRETE BASINS IN THE WORLD, SEVEN AND A HALF ACRES IN ALL...AND WHAT ONCE HELD 7 MILLION GALLONS OF WATER PURCHASED FROM THE CITY, WILL NOW HOLD 4 MILLION GALLONS, FILTERED IN FROM THE POTOMAC RIVER VIA THE TIDAL BASIN. FOR THE WORKERS WHO'VE LITERALLY BEEN IN THE TRENCHES, RESTORING ONE OF THE NATION'S MOST ICONIC LANDMARKS HAS BEEN AN ENGINEERING CHALLENGE, AND A PRIVILEGE.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that when it was offered to me I jumped at it immediately. I can't explain how much this means to me personally to have an opportunity to work on such an iconic project."

A PROJECT THAT RESTORES THE HISTORIC VISTA SO MANY VISITORS HAVE CHERISHED IN YEARS GONE BY...NOW PRESERVED, FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.