Reflecting pool

This article is about all reflecting pools, for the two named reflecting pools see Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and Capitol Reflecting Pool.

A reflecting pool or reflection pool is a water feature found in gardens, parks, and at memorial sites. It usually consists of a shallow pool of water, undisturbed by fountain jets, for a calm reflective surface.

Design

Reflecting pools are often designed with the outer basin floor at the rim slightly deeper than the central area to suppress wave formation. They can be as small as a bird bath, to as large as a major civic element. Their origins are from ancient Persian gardens.

Notable reflecting pools include

• The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, and Capitol Reflecting Pool, in Washington, D.C. (the reflecting pool in Washington DC, as of early March 2011, is under renovation)
• The Al-Andalus era Moorish garden reflecting pool in the Patio de los Arrayanes courtyard, at the Alhambra of Granada, in Andalusian Spain

• The modernist Palácio do Planalto and Palácio da Alvorada in Brasília, Brazil
• The King Center in Atlanta, Georgia commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
• The Oklahoma City National Memorial, at the site of the Oklahoma City bombing
• The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California, a former reflecting pool was located in front of the stage, circa 1953 - 1972.^[1]
• The National September 11 Memorial & Museum, located in New York City, currently has two reflecting pools on the location where the Twin Towers stood.
• The Mughal garden reflecting pools at the Taj Mahal in Agra, India
• The magnificent reflection of the stock exchange square in Bordeaux, France.

Gallery

References