Work crews donning hard hats and erecting chain-link fences around some of Washington’s most famous — and long broken — fountains in recent days have stirred puzzled looks from passersby and cautious optimism: Repairs? Could it really be?
The National Park Service is spending at least $54.2 million to repair fountains and water features at seven locations throughout the city over the next few months, according to procurement records reviewed by The Washington Post. It is win for local officials who have long lamented the neglected public spaces but have been unable to fix them because they are owned and controlled by the federal government.
In Meridian Hill Park, in Freedom Plaza near the White House, in Columbus Circle outside Union Station, the bone-dry behemoths have become something of a symbol of neglect in a city where the federal government is responsible for a vast majorityof parkland.
The National Park Service did not confirm the specific projects and funding amounts but agency spokesman Michael Litterst wrote in an email that the rehabilitation push was “part of a broader effort to restore aging infrastructure while improving the appearance of some of the city’s most prominent civic landscapes ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026.”
The investment comes as President Donald Trump ramps up his campaign to drastically remake the nation’s capital. He has deployed the National Guard in the city and wrested control of high-profile civic spaces, including public golf courses and the Kennedy Center.
He knocked down the East Wing and intends to build a triumphant arch. He has also shown unusual interest in municipal minutia, complaining about broken medians, potholes and dirty tiles lining a highway tunnel.
Soon after Trump launched a task force with the stated goal of making D.C. “safe and beautiful,” Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) sent a letter with a suggestion: Start by sprucing up the federal parks.
“We understand that this initiative reflects our shared priorities for a clean, safe and beautiful city — values that are central to the vibrancy of our Nation’s Capital and are in line with existing coordination between DC Government and our federal partners,” she wrote in the spring, attaching a list of fountains in need of repair.
“We are grateful for the ongoing partnership of the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior to ensure our federal spaces, especially our iconic parks and fountains, represent the beauty and grandeur of Washington, DC,” Bowser said in a statement to The Post this week.
Records show a $10.68 million project is underway at Meridian Hill Park, where the Italianate cascading fountain has been dry. Although residents there are proactive in reporting the problems, the fountain has sat empty for years as Park Service crews wrestle with century-old plumbing, algae, gravity and a mammoth maintenance backlog.
Two miles away, a $9.93 million project has begun at Freedom Plaza, steps from the White House.
Records show that all seven projects are slated for completion by the end of May, in time for summer, when the city will be hosting events for the country’s 250th anniversary.
“Many of these fountains have been affected by outdated mechanical systems and decades of weathering and heavy use, resulting in reduced functionality or extended closures,” Litterst, the National Park Service spokesman, said in an email. “Rehabilitation work focuses on repairing and modernizing fountain systems, conserving historic stone and sculpture, and improving surrounding plazas and landscapes.”
The most expensive rehab project clocks in at $11.79 million, to rehabilitate the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain in front of Union Station; its plumbing stopped functioning years ago. Water features honoring veterans of the Korean War and World War II are also being tended to, as are those at John Marshall Park, which honors the legendary chief justice of the United States.
And Rawlins Park — in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood, two blocks west of the White House — is set to undergo an $11 million revamping.
“We’re going to have this place beautified within a period of 12 months,” Trump said last summer, saying he would be requesting $2 billion from Congress for a city cleanup. Both the funding source for the fountain rehab and the status of the 2 billion-dollar request are unclear.
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