071. DC vibe check
flagwashing the capitol city
I’m giving an online talk with Sno-Isle County Libraries in a couple weeks about How Location Sketching Builds Connection to Place. Register for free and tune in! Tuesday, June 30, 2026 / 6:00pm–7:00pm
On my walks through the 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue thoroughfare over the years, I had always taken note of the protestors standing just outside the White House fence. Although there were usually just a few, generally standing quietly & holding their signs, they stood out amidst the crowds of tourists.
It felt comforting that peaceful protest so close to the President’s residency was possible — our Constitutionally guaranteed Right to Assemble in effect. Protesting here is one of the most patriotic things one could do. I imagine it was quite a statement for some international visitors, who wouldn’t be able to do that kind of thing where they live.
But on my recent visit to DC, I was shocked to see that formerly open part of Pennsylvania Ave completely closed. A couple carloads of semi-alert looking National Guardsmen were stationed at the entryway, dressed in tan camouflage-patterned uniforms that were truly incongruous with the urban setting. Nearby, a group of Secret Service people and a gaggle of DC Police stood by at the driveway.
Four days prior, a young man shot at officers from this very spot: another example of the growing number of threatening, violent actions that have transpired in the last few months. It all seems to be escalating: temperature rising, water simmering.
My mom, who works on this block several times a month, said that the street closure isn’t unheard of, especially when there are Important People staying in one of the nearby rowhouses (e.g. the King of England), but to me it felt shocking to have the access cut off so completely. There wasn’t a clear reason for it to be blocked off, and I wondered if it was the new state of affairs.
Our next stop was only a couple blocks away to the east, but due to that street closure we had to find an alternative route.
We walked south along 17th Ave. Mom pointed out the gorgeous granite French-style building that they want to paint white. Why? “It will make Washington more beautiful,” according to a certain someone.
The building, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (basically a space for White House staff to work), is very large and extremely elaborate. Painting it would be a monumental job — estimated $7,500,000 of taxpayer money. A drop in the bucket of the unimaginable amount of debt the country carries, but still — an unnecessary expense.
My mind immediately went to wondering about who would do the job. If current trends continue, it would be a friend of the current administration. Even if it’s not, the fact that I’m even thinking about this is so alarming. Physically being there, in the heart of D.C., the corruption felt so much closer — a tangible force.
A lone protestor held a sign up next to the security melee. It read something like “no slush fund for January 6th convicts”, referencing the “Weaponization Fund” that is possibly the most bald-face, bonkers example of Trump’s self-dealing… so far.1 She was silent and defiant.
Legions of contractors were setting up for the festivities for the Trump’s Birthday Flag Day “Freedom 250” UFC Fight on the White House lawn.
This summer is the 250th birthday of the U.S.A., and there is a lot going on.
There was some construction staging happening on the Ellipse (the White House front lawn) but not so much that a large portion of the grass couldn’t have been opened if they wanted it to be. Instead, rented barriers cut off access all the way up to the sidewalk. At each construction entry point, a security guard slouched in a folding chair and scrolled on their phone.
The residents of D.C. despise Trump: only 6.5% of them voted for him in the 2024 election. And that was before the massive layoffs to the local workforce: over 22,000 jobs in 2025.
The closure of the public space felt like it could be a snub to the city. Or, that could be me reading into it — he probably doesn’t actually even think about them much. But again, the fact that my mind went there means something is broken.
Mall access finally opened up after we crossed Constitution Ave, and we walked through a path in the park. Men on riding mowers were cutting circles in the lawn, engines a droning symphony.
The air smelled of fresh-cut grass with an undertone of the morning’s rain. I inhaled deeply, which helped me feel a bit more calm.
Mom and I sat down on a bench by the Reflecting Pool, the site of another Big Renovation Project. Between the wires of two layers of fencing, we had a good view of the work.
The pool (which is 1 foot deep by 4 blocks long) was completely drained of water, and instead filled with various vehicles and contractors. As one person power washed the floor, a group of hi-vis vested men convened in the center. They stood around talking for a long time. Eventually, they all went and sat on the edge of the pool to continue their conversation more comfortably.
Maybe they were waiting for something important to be delivered, or something. But part of me resented them for sitting around — that’s my (taxpayer) money funding this whole endeavor.
In a scandal that once would have been big news, the Reflecting Pool job was awarded in a no-bid process that paid out over $13 million for an initially estimated $2 million job, according to the New York Times. They justified the price saying it was a rush job.
And what contractor did they choose? According to NPR:
Trump told reporters last Thursday that he is working with one of his best "pool builders" from his real estate development days to clean up the pool, fix some of its joints and resurface it with "industrial-grade" material in the color "American flag blue.
I’ll give them that the Reflecting Pool is pretty gross. It sounds beautiful, but the water is unfortunately always opaque and brown, with algae blooms from all the bird poop in it. Maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised by the change. But my guess is that it’s going to be the same as it ever was.
A trailer parked nearby caught my eye. It had a vinyl wrap of an AI generated image of a guy in a hazmat suit incinerating an American flag. At least, that’s what it looked like to me. Perhaps their AI prompt said something like “industrial worker in PPE spraying American patriotism out of a spray gun”.
It boasted its home base as Atoka, Oklahoma. I looked it up later. It’s a very small town 1,300 miles away from D.C. — literally halfway across the whole country, in a different time zone. Their website branding is heavily USA-themed. Maybe that helped them get the (sub)contract?
A woman was making her way down the path near our bench, aiming a telephoto lens through the wires of the fence. I was curious who she was working for, if anyone, but I didn’t want to distract her or draw attention to ourselves — I felt a little risqué just doing my little drawings there. At least someone else found this worth documenting.
Mom and I made one more stop on our long walk to the other side of the Mall: I wanted to draw the clutter of the setup for the UFC fight on the White House lawn. A star-spangled metal arch over an outdoor stage was easy to pick out from blocks away. It will be first sporting event held at the White House in the country’s history, and naturally, the CEO of the organization and the President are friends from way back. Classy!
I think being so agitated about the city I have known since childhood being so changed — occupied by armed forces, physically torn apart, disgraced with tacky bullshit, workforce decimated — contributed to the personal tragedy that transpired directly after making that White House drawing.
I put my sketchbook into my inner jacket pocket so I could easily whip it out later. But I forgot that this particular jacket has a messed up inner pocket — possibly a manufacturer’s mistake because it makes NO sense — which isn’t sealed on one side. So at some point, the sketchbook fell out, and I didn’t notice.
The vibes are horrible here.
Read about the epic sketchbook hunt in the upcoming bonus post for paid subscribers.....
This is a sign to PUT YOUR CONTACT INFO IN YOUR SKETCHBOOK. And perhaps put an Airtag in it too. (I did the former but not the latter). And while you’re at it, put that stuff in your pen pouches as well!
Again: I’m giving an online talk with Sno-Isle County Libraries in a couple weeks about How Location Sketching Builds Connection to Place. Register for free and tune in! Tuesday, June 30, 2026 / 6:00pm–7:00pm
If you like this publication, you will like this talk. I am absolutely going to be working on the material into next week, so if you have any suggestions for things you’d want to hear me talk about, please leave a comment!
— eleanor (linktr.ee)
As of June 12, this fund is now “indefinitely blocked” by a Federal judge — thank god for what shreds of checks & balances we have left. If you want to learn more, Search Engine with PJ Vogt did a great podcast episode explaining what exactly the fund is and where it came from.
The Oklahoma location suggests it may be a firm with registered Native American ownership which gives them an edge on federal contracts.
Thanks for your post and I’m sorry you lost your sketchbook.