Washington Navy Yard

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Washington Navy Yard
National Register of Historic Places
Historic District
National Historic Landmark District
Aerial view of the Washington Navy Yard with the USS Barry on the pier and the Capitol in the background

Aerial view of the Washington Navy Yard with the USS Barry on the pier and the Capitol in the background

Washington Navy Yard (District of Columbia)
Paris plan pointer b jms.svg
location Washington, DC
Coordinates 38 ° 52 '24 "  N , 76 ° 59' 49"  W Coordinates: 38 ° 52 '24 "  N , 76 ° 59' 49"  W.
The NRHP added

The Washington Navy Yard is a former United States Navy shipyard and arms factory in Washington, DC The shipyard was founded in 1799, making it the Navy's oldest coastal facility. The Navy Yard , which was used as a shipyard and arms factory until the 1960s, was temporarily the largest shipyard in the US Navy. Since 1961, the facility has mainly been used by administrative departments of the Navy. The grounds of the former shipyard include the office of the Chief of Naval Operations , the headquarters of the Military Sealift Command and the US Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps, and the United States Navy Museum . Until its relocation to Quantico (Virginia) on September 15, 2011, the headquarters of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS Headquarters) was also housed here.

geography

Card of the yard

The Washington Navy Yard is located on the north bank of the Anacostia River , about two kilometers from its confluence with the Potomac River . The 0.26 square kilometer site extends about one kilometer along the right bank of the river. To the north, the yard is bordered by M Street , one of the main thoroughfares in southern Washington. To the east it is bordered by Interstate 295 and to the west by First Street , which continues to the Capitol one and a half kilometers north .

history

founding

The origins of the shipyard go back to the year 1797, when President George Washington outlined the boundaries of what would later become the yard in an addition to the so-called “Dermott map” on March 2nd.

“Fourteen. The appropriation bounded on the west by the east side of Seventh Street East, on the northwest by the south side of Georgia Avenue, on the north by the south side of M Street, on the west by the west side of Ninth Street East, and on the south by the Eastern Branch of the Anacostia River. "

"Fourteen. The Occupation is bounded to the west by the east side of East Seventh Street, to the northwest by the south side of Georgia Avenue, to the north by the south side of M Street, to the west by the west side of Ninth Street East and to the south by the eastern branch of the Anacostia River "

- George Washington

Washington's successor, John Adams, confirmed the occupation on July 25, 1798 and referred to the site for the first time as “ the navy yard square ” with a size of 12  acres , 3  roods and 15  poles (about 5  hectares ). On October 2, 1799, the site was handed over to the US Navy and the Washington Navy Yard was officially launched. In the following period, the construction of the first buildings and accommodations on the site began, in January 1801 two more parcels in the west of the yard were purchased and incorporated for $ 4,000. In 1804, under the direction of Benjamin Latrobe , construction began on the main gate, which was later named "Latrobe Gate" in his honor. In addition to some officers' quarters, the gate was the first permanent building on the site. Five years later the construction of the first enclosure wall, a white brick wall, began, some of which still forms the northern boundary of the Navy Yard today.

Destruction and rebuilding

Lithograph of the yard from 1862

In the following years the yard developed into one of the most important shipyards of the US Navy, 22 ships were built there by 1812. With the outbreak of the British-American War in 1812, the Navy Yard became a central element of Washington's defense. However, when the British conquered Washington in 1814, the area could no longer be held and was set on fire in order not to leave the infrastructure to the enemy. Only the Latrobe Gate , Officers Quarters B and Tingey House, the commandant's residence, were spared the fire. After the liberation of Washington, the reconstruction of the shipyard began, but in the following years the Navy Yard no longer achieved the importance as a shipbuilding yard that it had before the war. This was due, among other things, to its location on the Anacostia River, which at that time was too shallow for larger ships, which massively restricted the size of the ships built at the shipyard.

A development began that would shape the Washington Navy Yard until it was closed: it became one of the most important weapons and technology research institutions and the most important weapons factory for the US Navy. In the following years the first steam engines of the Navy were built there, John Adolphus Bernard Dahlgren , who was appointed commander of the base at the beginning of the Civil War , improved his Dahlgren cannon there . During the war the USS Monitor , damaged in the Battle of Hampton Roads , was repaired and overhauled in the yard.

Naval weapons factory

Aerial view of the yard from 1918

In 1886, the yard was officially designated the U.S. Navy weapons manufacturing facility. In the following period, the production facilities for weapons were expanded, and in 1902 the Navy acquired additional land west of the old site to make room for new foundries and arms factories. In the period that followed, almost all of the US Navy’s heavy artillery pieces were produced on the site, including 14-inch railway guns that were used in France during the First World War . With two further land purchases in 1916 and 1918, the site was expanded to its present size. In the interwar period, the Washington Navy Yard developed into the world's largest producer of naval weapons and technology, with a large part of the armament of the US Navy being produced there, from optical sights to heavy 16-inch naval guns . With around 25,000 employees, the Navy Yard was one of the largest employers in the Washington area at weddings.

Decline

In December 1945 the yard was officially renamed the US Naval Gun Factory , but the slow decline began. Since the new focus on rocket and guided missiles made heavy ship guns superfluous, the importance of the yard also declined. Production continued until 1961, when the US Navy arms factory was closed.

revival

On July 1, 1964, the Navy Yard got its old name back and work began on converting the now vacant factory buildings into office buildings. Mezzanine floors were drawn into the halls to create space for office space, new entrances and stairways were created, and in some cases new elevator towers were built, although care was taken to preserve the architectural image. Due to its proximity to the government district in Washington, the yard offered an ideal location for the administration of the US Navy. In the following years, more and more administrative offices of the US Navy and the United States Marine Corps settled on the former shipyard site. In 1973, the Washington Navy Yard was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a Historic District . Since May 11, 1976 it has the status of a National Historic Landmark .

Shootout in September 2013

At least 13 people (12 plus the perpetrator) were killed in a shooting on September 16, 2013. The perpetrator Aaron Alexis (May 9, 1979 in Queens , New York City - September 16, 2013 in Washington, DC ) opened the shooting in the morning in the command building of the military facility and then fled. After several hours of escape, he was killed in an exchange of fire by the Metropolitan Police .

Attractions

View over the historic core of the yard, in the foreground the Latrobe Gate, behind it Dahlgren Avenue with the historic officers' quarters, in the background the bow of the USS Barry

Latrobe Gate

The Latrobe Gate has been the main entrance to the Washington Navy Yard since it was built in 1804. Originally built as a one-story brick building in the so-called “ Greek Revival ” style, a second floor was added in 1823 to create more space for the guards. The building received its final shape in 1880/81 when large parts of the old structure were demolished to create a new, three-story gatehouse.

Characteristic for the outer north facade of the gatehouse are the Greek columns that separate the vehicle from the pedestrian passage in the gate area, as well as the two towers to the right and left of the passage.

Today the Latrobe Gate is only used for representative purposes, the main entrance is now one street further east, where a modern control point allows access to the site without any restrictions on width or height.

Officers quarters

The former officers' quarters are among the oldest buildings on the site . "Quarters B", built in 1801, is the oldest surviving building, a simple two-story, white-painted brick building that used to be an apartment for the deputy commander of the shipyard. Three years later, the construction of “Quarters A”, now known as “Tingey House”, east of Latrobe Gate, began “ on the highest point of the yard to be able to see all ” ( Benjamin Latrobe , German: “am highest point of the yard to be able to see everything ”). The two-and-a-half-story brick building, in the Flemish style , is still the ceremonial centerpiece of the site today, and it also serves as the residence of the Chief of Naval Operations .

Leutze Park

Leutze Park, named after Admiral Eugene Henry Cozzens Leutze , the son of the history painter Emanuel Leutze , extends on both sides of "Dahlgren Avenue", the central axis of the yard that leads from Latrobe Gate to the Middendorf Building. It houses 26 captured bronze guns, which are exhibited there as trophies for the US Navy. The exhibits include numerous British guns, but also captured Confederate cannons and mortars, as well as a gun from Japan .

Facilities on the premises

Web links

Commons : Washington Navy Yard  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Naval Historical Center, History of the Washington Navy Yard , as of June 1, 2007
  2. ↑ a b globalsecurity.org , as of June 1, 2007
  3. ↑ a b U.S. Government Land Acquisition Relating to the Washington Navy Yard, 1797-1932 , as of June 1, 2007
  4. ^ US Government Land Acquisition Relating to the Washington Navy Yard, 1797-1932 , as of June 1, 2007
  5. ^ US Government Land Acquisition Relating to the Washington Navy Yard, 1797-1932 , as of June 1, 2007
  6. ^ US Government Land Acquisition Relating to the Washington Navy Yard, 1797-1932 , as of June 1, 2007
  7. ^ Washington Navy Yard on the National Register Information System. National Park Service , accessed August 4, 2017.
  8. ↑ Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: District of Columbia. National Park Service , accessed July 19, 2019.
  9. ↑ Aaron Alexis Identified As Alleged Navy Yard Shooter. Huffington Post , accessed September 17, 2013 .
  10. ↑ Aaron Alexis named Suspected gunman in Washington navy yard shooting. The Guardian , accessed September 17, 2013 .
  11. ↑ FBI Seeks Information on September 16, 2013 Navy Yard Shootings. FBI , accessed September 17, 2013 .
  12. ^ History of Officers Quarters , as of June 1, 2007
  13. ^ Rear Admiral Eugene Henry Cozzens Leutze, USN (1847–1931) at destroyerhistory.org, as of June 21, 2013
  14. ^ Bronze Guns of Leutze Park , as of June 1, 2007