FUN FACT: The Reflecting Pool isn't changing nearly as much as we are. When it opened in 1922, architect Henry Bacon's goal was to create a grand visual connection between the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument. It was a landscape feature. A reflection. A civic space. It was not designed to be a perfectly clear, algae-free, maintenance-free water feature scrutinized by millions of people online. Over the last century, we've quietly changed the requirements. Today we expect: • Perfect reflections • No algae • No leaks • No discoloration • No downtime • Historic authenticity • Environmental sustainability • Low operating costs And we expect all of that simultaneously. The pool hasn't stood still. It has received major repairs, new circulation systems, filtration upgrades, waterproofing, ozone treatment, reconstruction, resurfacing, and millions upon millions of dollars in investment. Yet algae still appears. Why? Because some of our expectations may be fighting physics, biology, and the original design itself. The question isn't whether the Reflecting Pool can be improved. The question is whether a shallow, sunlit, outdoor pool surrounded by trees, birds, weather, and millions of visitors can ever permanently satisfy 21st-century expectations that didn't exist when it was built. A century later, we may be judging the pool less by what it was designed to be than by what we wish it could become.