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US Army Corps of Engineers
Office of History

The Corps of Engineers in the District of Columbia

[image: Plan for the city of Washington by Pierre L'Enfant]

In 1791, President George Washington hired Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a captain in the U.S. Engineers, to design and draw up the plan for the new city of Washington, a 10-mile, diamond-shaped tract of land. L'Enfant's design for the city, at the confluence of the Potomac and Eastern Branch Rivers, was based on a grid system that included long radial avenues originating from each of the two most significant building sites that would later house the president and Congress. L'Enfant respected the region's natural topography and designed the streets to join at key areas to showcase monuments, statues, fountains, and important buildings.
The portion of the color, present day map of Washington, D.C., that is superimposed over the streets of L'Enfant's map (cover), is testament to his timeless design.

[image: map of modern Washington D.C. overlaid on L'Enfant's design with Army Corp of Engineers building sites marked.]

Throughout our nation's history, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been instrumental in designing and constructing many of its capital's buildings, monuments, bridges, and roadways. A portion of those, depicted during and after construction, is shown following the sequence of a driving tour throughout the Washington, D.C. area, starting at Mount Vernon and ending back on the George Washington Memorial Parkway.

The diagram at right indicates the location of some of these areas. Image captions are shown on the back cover.

1. George Washington Memorial Parkway

[image: Construction and fill between highway and railroad bridges. July 31,1930.]

Congress had long debated construction of a parkway between Mount Vernon, home of George Washington, and the principal bridge leading into the city of Washington. Finally, as part of the nation's celebration of the bicentennial of the birth of George Washington, Congress funded construction of this memorial parkway. The parkway crossed four Potomac River estuaries on bridges and Washington District Engineers Major (later General) Brehon B. Somervell and Major (later Colonel) Joseph D. Arthur, Jr., supervised the construction of fills across nearly three miles of open water. The hydraulic fills used 3.5 million yards of dredged material in an unprecedented undertaking in roadway construction. Its route was later changed because of the construction of Washington's Reagan National Airport.

[image: George Washington Memorial Parkway complete. 1933.]

2. Fort Washington

[image: Digital copy of watercolor of Fort Washington. No date.]

This fort is an outstanding example of an early nineteenth century coastal defense built by the Corps of Engineers. It was designed to withstand attack by wooden naval vessels armed with smooth-bore artillery. Its high masonry walls, gun positions, dry moat, and drawbridge illustrate some of the principles of military science and architecture. The fort also occupies the site of the earliest fortification defending Washington, D.C. This fort was rebuilt in 1814 to immediately replace the earlier fort that was destroyed August 27, 1814 by its defenders in the face of a British advance on Washington, D.C., and Alexandria, VA, during the War of 1812.

[image: Aerial view of Fort Washington: Junction of the Potomac River and Piscataway Creek. October 20, 1959.]

3. National Airport

[image: Aerial view of dredging and construction, looking north (Gravelly Point, VA). July 1, 1940.]

In 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Civil Aeronautics Authority chose Gravelly Point, a low-lying area on the west bank of the Potomac, as the site for a new airport close to Washington, D.C. In addition to a workforce of more than 6,000, the Washington Engineer District, under Colonel Robert S.Thomas, and the New Deal's Works Projects Administration (WPA), headed by Engineer Colonel Francis C. Harrington, had to use three of the largest hydraulic dredges then in service anywhere in the world. They recovered more than 20 million cubic yards of material from the Potomac River, creating more than 700 acres needed for the airport. This project is a symbol of the Corps of Engineers' cooperation with the New Deal during the Great Depression to both create employment and build for the nation's future.

[image: Washington National (Gravelly) Airport, costing $15 million, opened June 16, 1941. Aerial shows the Administration Building and the hangar on left.]

4. Pentagon

[image: War Department Building, Arlington, VA. Northwest exposure showing intersections of A and E sections.]

Then Brigadier General Brehon Somervell proposed construction of the Pentagon in the summer of 1941 to bring together the War Department's 24,000 employees then working in 17 locations. Engineer Lieutenant Colonel (later Major General) Hugh J. Casey and architect George E. Bergstrom sketched the basic plans for this three-story, five-sided building in one weekend. They designed it to house 40,000 workers. Its structural framework of concrete saved steel during its World War II construction period. The gigantic pentagon-shaped office building is designed so that a person can cross the entire building in six minutes. By May 1, 1942, 1 million square feet of office space was already in use. The Corps and its contractors completed the building January 15, 1943, 16 months after the prime contract was awarded.

[image: The Pentagon, Headquarters of the Department of Defense.]

5. Arlington Memorial Bridge

[image: Aerial view of construction on the Arlington Memorial Bridge, Washington D.C. May 27, 1929.]

This bridge linking the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery symbolizes the union of North and South as well as uniting President Abraham Lincoln and the dead of the Civil War. The bridge also solved a traffic problem by providing an additional Potomac River crossing. Corps of Engineers Lieutenant Colonel (later Colonel) Clarence O. Sherrill, the Executive and Disbursing Officer of the Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission, supervised its construction between 1926 and 1932. It presented unusual engineering challenges as both a memorial and traffic artery. The bridge had to bear the weight of granite facing and statues while its machinery to raise and lower the center spans had to be inconspicuous. The designers solved that problem by placing the machinery underneath and inside the bridge instead of in the traditional overhead placement. That explains the different coloration of the center spans visible on the sides of the bridge. Those discolored decks, as heavy as the others, are raised and lowered by the
hidden machinery.

[image: Arlington Memorial Bridge, complete: Washington, D.C. 1941.]

6. Lincoln Memorial

[image: Lincoln Memorial under construction, east side. July 1, 1916.]

Engineer officers supervised the construction of the Lincoln Memorial on ground that the Corps earlier reclaimed by filling in this swampy area with dredge material from the Potomac. The reinforced foundation of this memorial rests on bedrock 44 to 65 feet below the original grade. The 36 columns represent the 36 states in the Union at the time of Lincoln's death. The marble is from Colorado quarries, and some of the stones weigh 23 tons each. The building is of Grecian architecture similar to the Parthenon.

[image: Lincoln Memorial, complete, east side, ca. 1940s.]

7. Pension Building

[image: Construction of the Pension Building showing rising interior columns and walls, ca. 1884.]

Brevet Major General Montgomery C. Meigs, a former Engineer officer turned quartermaster, designed this building after the style of the Italian Renaissance Farnese Palace in Florence, Italy. Intended to house the Pension Bureau, this practical structure also is a memorial to those who fought in the Civil War. As such, the three-foot tall relief circling the building depicts Union forces on the march. Army troops paraded for the sculptor so that he could obtain accurate details. After the Pension Bureau moved out in 1926, other government agencies used it. The Pension Building now houses a national museum of the construction arts.

[image: Pension Building, ca. 1900-1910.]

8. Government Printing Office

[image: Government Printing Office, view of construction from southeast corner. June 10, 1901.]

Captain (later Colonel) John S. Sewell built this modern brick and concrete printing plant between 1899 and 1903 at a cost of about $2.5 million. The Corps worked closely with GPO's engineering staff to build a fireproof building incorporating the latest technology and providing the flexibility that GPO needed. Because GPO was now relying on electrical printing presses that might have to be moved as technology changed, the Corps designed and built a space between the floors where electricians could work to add or move electrical wires and provide new connections to the equipment and enhance safety, which was a prime concern.

[image: Government Printing Office in its present (completed) condition, ca. 1902-1904.]

9. General Ulysses S. Grant Monument

[image: Equestrian statue, by Henry Merwin Shrady, of Ulysses S. Grant as it is mounted on the pedestal at Union Square on east end of the Mall, U.S. Capitol in background, Washington, D.C., ca. 1920-22.]

This monument is near the Peace Monument (1877), formerly the Navy Monument. The Peace Monument depicts America weeping on the shoulder of History over her dead naval defenders of the Civil War. Both typify that monument-building era. Although each major monument had its own designers and oversight commission, the Corps' Office of Public Buildings and Grounds usually provided the sites, supervised the construction, and maintained the buildings, as it did for the Grant Monument, which was completed in 1922. General Grant is on a marble platform 252 feet wide and 71 feet deep. Groups representing Artillery and Cavalry are at the ends of the platform. The Infantry is represented in reliefs on the sides of the Grant pedestal.

[image: Scene at the unveiling of the (Ulysses S.) Grant Statue, Washington, D.C. West Point cadets in foreground, July 10, 1922.]

10. United States Capitol

[image: Construction of the U.S. Capitol dome, ca. 1860s.]

Army Engineers have frequently been involved in repairing and improving the Capitol building. After the British burned the Capitol during their 1814 invasion, the Chief Engineer, Colonel (later Brevet Brigadier General) Joseph G. Swift, and Engineer Lieutenant Colonel (later Brevet Colonel) George Bomford examined the damage to determine how much of the remains were usable. Colonel Swift personally supervised some of the restoration work. By the 1850's Congress had outgrown the original building and in 1851 voted funds for two extensions. In 1853, Engineer Captain Montgomery C. Meigs (who later built the Pension Building) took over supervisory responsibility for the project. Congress trusted both his integrity and his administrative skills. Meigs then redesigned and had built both of the wings where the branches of Congress now meet. Just before the Civil War, Meigs designed and started construction on the present 9 million-pound Capitol dome. Meigs personally initiated and supervised the rich artwork in the two wings and designed the heating, cooling, and ventilation systems for the building.

[image: Aerial view of the modern U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C.]

11. Library of Congress

[image: Bernard R. Green, Lt. Col. Casey's civilian assistant (right, foreground), observes the laying of the cornerstone for new Library of Congress. August 28, 1890.]

By the time Brigadier General Thomas Lincoln Casey became Chief of Engineers on July 6, 1888, he had an outstanding reputation for the construction of federal projects as head of the Office of Public Buildings and Grounds in the Office of the Chief of Engineers. Thus, when Congress wanted to replace the first architect of the Library of Congress, John L. Smithmeyer, in October 1888, it turned to Casey to direct construction of the new building. The Commission for the Construction of the Congressional Library Building had already hired Casey's assistant, civil engineer Bernard R. Green, as superintendent of construction. After Casey's death in 1896, Congress appointed Green to his place almost immediately. The building provides nearly 8 million cubic feet of space and more than eight acres of floor space. It contains impressive open spaces and attractive symbolic artwork. Started in 1886, the building opened to the public in 1897.

[image: Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., ca. 1897.]

12. National War College

[image: National War College (northwest end), under construction at former Washington Barracks, now Fort McNair, Washington, D.C. July 1906.]

Fort McNair has been a military reservation since 1797. The conspirators in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln were imprisoned here, and four of them were hanged near what are now the tennis courts. Then Engineer Captain John S. Sewell supervised the construction of barracks, quarters, the National War College building, and other facilities from 1903 to 1907 after he built the Government Printing Office. Sewell emphasized brickwork because it was economical and seemed in keeping with military simplicity.

[image: National War College, complete, Washington, D.C., ca. 1970s.]

13. Washington Channel and Tidal Basin

[image: Construction of the Washington channel. View of Potomac River at Washington, D.C. showing the new Tidal Basin, bridges, and dredge working to fill outline of future Columbia Island off the Virginia shore. 1924.]

The District of Columbia marks the head of navigation on the Potomac River. Here the tides and the river combined to produce a malarial swamp along Washington's waterfront on the Potomac. The low area would flood and often create unpleasant, if not unhealthy, conditions inland almost to the White House and Washington Monument. After a severe flood in 1881, Congress ordered the Corps to improve the area between the White House and Washington Monument. After a severe flood in 1881, Congress ordered the Corps to improve the area between the White House and the Potomac. The Corps also had responsibility for the waterfront in Southwest Washington. Through careful design and the use of dredge material as fill behind sea walls, Major (later Brigadier General) Peter C. Hains and other engineers reclaimed the land, improved the waterfront, and channeled tidal flows into the Tidal Basin in front of the Jefferson Memorial.

[image: Washington Channel, complete. Potomac River at Washington, D.C. Washington Channel Waterfront, looking downstream. July 18, 1932.]

14. Thomas Jefferson Memorial

[image: Jefferson Memorial under construction, Washington, D.C. June 11, 1941.]

By the time President Franklin D. Roosevelt laid the cornerstone for this memorial in 1939, the Corps of Engineers was no longer responsible for supervising the construction and maintenance of memorials; however, the Corps did reclaim the land on which this memorial stands. Its completion marks the fulfillment of L'Enfant's and MacMillan's plans for the Mall. (Kutz Memorial Bridge, across the Tidal Basin from the Jefferson Memorial, is named after Brigadier General Charles W. Kutz, Engineer Commissioner of the District of Columbia, 1914-1917, 1918-1921, and 1941-1945.)

[image: Jefferson Memorial with the Tidal Basin and Washington Monument in the background, ca. 1960s-70s.]

15. Lincoln Memorial, Reflecting Pool, and Washington Monument

[image: 15. a. Partially completed Reflecting Pool and the temporary War Department buildings on the right, ca. 1917-1925.]

On the long axis of the Mall, the reflecting pool connects the Lincoln and Washington memorials. Because it rests on part of the early twentieth century fill work of the Corps, rather than on bedrock, the pool is constructed on a floating membrane. Congress gave then Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Casey the responsibility for completing the Washington Monument after a private organization could no longer afford to continue the construction. Redesigning the monument to bring its lines into proper portions and to prevent its sinking into the Mall, Casey supervised its construction from 1876 to 1884. He and his civilian assistant, Bernard Green, capped the monument with the largest piece of aluminum then cast in the New World, 100 ounces.

[image: Washington Monument, Reflecting Pool, and Lincoln Memorial, ca. WWI--note Arlington Memorial Bridge not yet constructed (until 1926).]

First Phase - Individual Assingments

1791 Pierre Charles L'Enfant surveyed and designed the master plan for the new City of Washington.

1814 Chief Engineer, Col. Joseph G. Swift, and Lt. Col. George Bomford reported on damages and assisted in the repair of the Capitol after the British burned it in the War of 1812.

1814 Engineer officers began the rebuilding of Fort Washington.

1822 Topographical Corps Maj. Isaac Roberdeau supervised the installation of cast iron pipes to bring spring water to the White House and nearby executive offices.

1852 Capt. Montgomery C. Meigs built a permanent water supply system for Washington and Georgetown. Cabin John Bridge was part of this project.

1853 Meigs also supervised the extension of wings of the Capitol (including designing new ventilation and heating system) and the artists' work on the interior. He was later responsible for the Capitol dome.

Second Phase - Institutionalization

1867 The Office of Public Buildings and Parks was established in the Office of the Chief of Engineers, but customarily was accountable directly to the president. Responsibilities for the Mall area included statues, memorials, and related projects. Usually supervised contractors rather than direct construction.

1874 Engineer Commissioner of the District of Columbia was the Corps member of a presidentially appointed, three-person governing commission of the District. He was responsible for zoning and the physical plant and infrastructure.

1875 The Washington Engineer District handled all standard civil and military functions of an engineer district, including filling in the west end of the Mall and building Potomac Park.

1902 The Washington Aqueduct was an independent office in the Office of the Chief of Engineers until brought under the Washington Engineer District, ca. 1902.

Third Phase - Lessening Role

1933 These functions were transferred to the Department of the Interior (principally to the National Park Service).

1961 The Washington Engineer District was abolished. The U.S. Army Engineer District, Baltimore, assumed its responsibilities for both civil and military projects such as construction of the new Walter Reed Army Hospital and Anacostia River improvement work.

1967 With home rule for the District, the president abolished the governing commission of the District of Columbia, which included the position of Engineer Commissioner.

Office of History
U.S. Army Corp of Engineers

http://www. hq. usace. arm y.mil/history

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