The Godey Lime Kilns were an important part of the mid-19th century commercial life of Georgetown. The kilns were operated to produce lime from 1864 to 1908. At the peak of operation, the kilns consisted of four oven structures and an assortment of sheds and structures scattered around them.

Godey Lime KilnsGodey Lime Kilns ca. 1938

Click on an image to enlarge.

The entire business was situated on the edge of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. By the 1960s, the remains of the Godey Lime Kilns were located amid the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, the Whitehurst Freeway, and highway and access ramps for K Street.

Only two of the original four ovens remain, and these two were half buried before the National Park Service and District of Columbia Highway Department combined efforts to stabilize them.

Here is how they look today:

Image from Wikipedia.

Kent Boese posts items of historic interest, primarily within the District. He’s worked in libraries since 1994, both federal and law, and currently works on K Street. He’s been an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner serving the northern Columbia Heights and Park View neighborhoods since 2011 (ANC 1A), and served as the Commission’s Chair since 2013. He has a MS in Design from Arizona State University with strong interests in preservation, planning, and zoning. Kent is also the force behind the blog Park View, DC.