National Mall to get $700 million redesign

WASHINGTON, May 4 (UPI) -- A $700 million redesign plan would turn the National Mall in Washington into a huge urban park with gardens and an outdoor theater, officials said.

The Trust for the National Mall announced three projects had been selected winners in a competition for the mall's redesign, USA Today reported.

The mall extends from the Lincoln Memorial to the U.S. Capitol.

At Union Square, the area that includes the reflecting pool, a reflecting pool would be able to change from a hard surface to a fountain to a pool. The area would also would include gardens extending from the U.S. Botanical Garden.

Constitution Gardens, the park and pond north of the Lincoln Memorial's reflecting pool, would include picnic areas and an indoor pavilion with a restaurant and terrace. Visitors would be able to rent toy boats to sail on the pond in summer, and the pond would become an ice rink in winter.

On the grassy slope surrounding the Washington Monument, the Sylvan Theater amphitheater would be framed by trees. A landscape architect said the amphitheater would be a "magical setting for performance."

About 24 million people visit the mall each year.