By The Trump administration has repaired dozens of fountains and statues, removed hundreds of instances of graffiti, and cleared truckloads of debris from public spaces as part of a sweeping effort to restore the appearance of the nation’s capital.
On Thursday, the administration reopened the Columbus Circle fountain outside Union Station for the first time since 2007, marking one of the most visible results of the initiative.
A fountain sat dry and broken for 19 years.
And nobody is talking about what it actually took to fix it.
🚨 🚨 🚨 THE COLUMBUS CIRCLE FOUNTAIN JUST REOPENED AFTER 19 YEARS — AND THE REACTION IS BREAKING THE INTERNET 🚨 🚨 🚨
Built in 1912. Dry since 2007. Nineteen years of… pic.twitter.com/Aeu3W9032N
— Trinity (@0xtrinityguy) June 1, 2026
The “Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force,” established on March 28, 2025, has completed repairs on 22 fountains and 28 statues during its first 14 months, according to figures produced by The Daily Caller.
Officials have also removed more than 500 instances of graffiti, installed 134 rat-resistant trash cans, and repaired more than 150 potholes. The task force has cleared 250 truckloads of debris from city ponds, restored or added more than 1,143 benches, repaired 1,695 lights, and cleaned 45 prominent monuments and memorials.
Six new statues have been installed as part of the project, including a statue of Caesar Rodney that was removed during the riots of 2020.
“No president in history has done more to prioritize the safety, restoration and beautification of Washington, D.C. Decline is a choice, and the Trump administration will continue this important work to ensure D.C. remains the greatest, safest and most beautiful capital in the world,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum recently tweeted.
The restored fountains include those at Dupont Circle, Columbus Circle, Freedom Plaza, Lafayette Park, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the World War II Memorial, and the U.S. Navy Memorial.
Crews have also repaired fountains at the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, Bolivar Memorial Park, the George Mason Memorial, the National Japanese American Memorial, John Marshall Park, Meridian Hill Park, Rawlins Park, and the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial, among other locations.
TRUMP HIGHLIGHTS DC NEGLECT
President Trump just posted side by side photos of the once beautiful Cascades at Meridian Hill Park in Washington, D.C.
Left: What it looks like today, dry, dirty, and completely rundown.
Right: What it used to look like, stunning, majestic, and… pic.twitter.com/Xwk2jIZIiP
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) May 23, 2026
The restored statues and monuments include the Captain John Paul Jones Statue, the Edmund Burke Statue, the George Mason Statue, the John Ericsson Monument, the Casimir Pulaski statue in Freedom Plaza, the Joan of Arc statue in Meridian Hill Park, the General John Logan Statue, the Commodore John Barry Statue, the Bernardo de Gálvez Statue, and the Abraham Lincoln statue inside the Lincoln Memorial.
🚨 President Trump just DROPPED the hammer on DC neglect: His crew hauled out 16 TONS of garbage, algae, and filth from the shallow Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool!
Years of disgusting buildup under previous "leadership" — rotting trash in America's iconic landmark. Trump got… pic.twitter.com/bSdVOyInYT
— Today Updates 🇺🇸 (@TodayUpdates0) May 12, 2026
The administration has also restored statues of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Theodore Roosevelt, Caesar Rodney, Taras Shevchenko, and Simón Bolívar, along with monuments honoring the Seabees and veterans of the Spanish-American War.
The improvements are part of a broader Trump administration effort to address visible signs of deterioration in Washington and restore the monuments, parks, fountains, and public spaces that shape the appearance of the nation’s capital.
[Read More: Liberal Commentator Terrified That Dems Just Don’t Get It]
