Lincoln Memorial pool reopens after $13.1 million repaint
What's new: As water returned Friday, many visitors said the darker basin looked gray or black, not the bright blue critics feared.
Water began flowing back into the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Friday after a weeks-long resurfacing and repainting project that closed the site to visitors. President Donald Trump pushed the overhaul, which included fixing leaks and darkening the basin to what he called "American flag blue." Federal records cited by the BBC put the cost at $13.1 million, far above Trump’s earlier $2 million estimate. By Friday morning, the 2,028-foot pool was only partly refilled, but tourists watching from the steps told NPR the finished color looked closer to gray or black than the vivid blue seen in early renderings and initial coats of paint. The pool first opened in 1923 and last underwent major renovations from 2010 to 2012.