The District’s Tidal Basin is renowned for its cherry trees, but visitors these days will glimpse only stumps, barricades and construction in some areas.
It’s all part of the National Park Service’s $113 million restoration of the sea walls around the Tidal Basin and the Potomac River, which includes the removal of some of the heralded cherry trees, said Mike Litterst, spokesperson for the National Mall.
“There are a few reasons for the need of this project,” Mr. Litterst said, one being the result of climate change. Sea levels have risen over the last few decades, and the water level in the Tidal Basin has risen 13 inches.
What’s more, the seawalls, which were not properly anchored, have sunk as much as 5 feet since their initial construction, allowing water to flow over them during high tides, according to the park service, which is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
These issues have caused the seawalls to no longer be structurally sound and now pose a threat to the historical significance of the basin and visitors’ experience, Mr. Litterst said.
The restoration will rehabilitate about 6,800 linear feet of seawall between the Jefferson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt memorials and extend its life expectancy by approximately 100 years, according to the service.
Preparing the site and removing some 140 cherry trees, which began in late May, were expected to take about six weeks to complete. “I think they’re probably just about finished at this point,” Mr. Litterst said.
The beloved “Stumpy” — a stubby cherry tree that had clung to life in the Tidal Basin’s increasingly brackish water — was removed last month, much to the disappointment of its admirers.
The project includes more than just cherry trees: It is part of nearly $500 million of infrastructure improvements being done to the National Mall in time for the nation’s 250th birthday. It includes upgrades to the National Mall, from a new museum at the Jefferson Memorial to renovations of the Constitution Gardens.
Mr. Litterst thinks the attraction that will be of most interest is a new museum near the Lincoln Memorial, which will be “15,000 square feet of exhibit space that should open in 2026.”
All of the improvements are expected to be done by 2026, just in time to celebrate 250 years of American independence.
And those disappointed by the removal of the cherry trees should take heart. “Of course, when it’s over, we’re replacing far more cherry trees than we’re taking down,” Mr. Litterst said.
The District’s cherry trees have been a top attraction every spring for decades. The first cherry trees were a gift from Tokyo and planted on March 27, 1912, according to the park service. When the trees bloomed four years later, they served as an annual reminder of the friendship between the U.S. and Japan.
