DC's little-known infrastructure

History

DC's little-known infrastructure

by Dan Malouff • January 13, 2011 1:56 pm

Every visitor from the Midwest knows about the Washington Metro and Beltway, but those well-known structures only scratch the surface of interesting infrastructure in the DC region.

Here is a list of some fascinating, but oft-forgotten, pieces of Washingtonia. Each link provides additional information, including pictures:

Photo by tormol on Flickr.

The Capitol Subway: Metrorail isn't the only subway system in Washington. Under Capitol Hill three subway lines emanate like rays out from the Capitol building, carrying Congresspeople and their staff members to and from the various Congressional office buildings.

The first line, to the Russell Building, opened in 1909, with lines going to the Hart, Dirksen, and Rayburn buildings opening between 1960 and 1982. The secret subway isn't really a secret, and although it's not open to the public, visitors can catch a ride if they arrange one with their Congressperson.

The Aqueduct Bridge: Non sequitur though it may be, there was indeed once a bridge that carried boats over the Potomac.

It opened in 1843 and was called the Aqueduct Bridge. It ran from the C&O Canal in Georgetown across the river to Rosslyn, where it met a canal going from there to Alexandria. Canal boats of the day were too fragile to survive the river, so a bridge was needed.

Photo by NCinDC on Flickr.

Although the main span of the aqueduct was torn down when the Key Bridge was built in 1923, the old abutments remain on both the DC and Virginia sides. In fact, visitors to Georgetown can walk right up onto the ruins, to be greeted by some of the city's loveliest views.

The Montgomery/Loudoun ferry: Since 1817 there has been ferry service across the Potomac between Montgomery and Loudoun Counties. White's Ferry, as it is currently known, is a floating slab of concrete that runs along a cable connected to both sides of the river. It carries cars, pedestrians and bicyclists commuting between Maryland and Northern Virginia every day of the week.

Photo by chriggy1 on Flickr.

Trolley remnants: Trolleys were once the bread and butter of urban transportation. As whole towns are now built around cars, whole towns were once built around streetcars. Although it's been 49 years since the last trolley rolled down a Washington street, there remains a plenitude of vintage trolley infrastructure.

The most famous cases are the abandoned trolley subway station under Dupont Circle and the trolley tracks visible on P Street in Georgetown, but those examples aren't alone. There are least four old trolley station depots still standing, at Glen Echo Park in Maryland, on Colorado Avenue, on Calvert Street, and on Connecticut Avenue (though that last may have only served buses).

From left to right, the Connecticut Avenue terminal in Chevy Chase,
the 14th & Colorodo NW terminal, the Calvert Street terminal.

Car barns, where trolley vehicles were stored when not in use, remain standing and converted to other purposes in several neighborhoods across the city. Even the light poles on the Klingle Valley Bridge are remnants of trolleys; they're twice as tall as the lights they hold because decades ago they also strung trolley wires.

Washington is a fascinating city a long and diverse history. What other little-known pieces of the city can you name?

18 comments

Tags: ferries, history, Potomac River, streetcars

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Dan Malouff is a professional transportation planner for the Arlington County Department of Transportation. He has a degree in Urban Planning from the University of Colorado, and lives a car-free lifestyle in Northwest Washington. His posts are his own opinions and do not represent the views of his employer in any way. He runs the blog BeyondDC and also contributes to the Washington Post Local Opinions blog.

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How about the DC Canal Lock House as a reminder of the canal that used to run through the Mall?

by Shipsa01 on Jan 13, 2011 2:23 pm • link • report

It may be obvious to most, but from an out-of-towner's perspective I think it'd be nice to note the area's former rail lines turned recreational pathways - the W&OD and Capital Crescent Trails are perfect examples.

by Josh C. on Jan 13, 2011 2:41 pm • link • report

How about Tiber Creek, which used to flow from the Catholic University area down to the Mall? It's all been covered over now, but it still exists as an underground waterway. Its location is evident by the area's topography.

by Malcolm K. on Jan 13, 2011 2:45 pm • link • report

One of my favorite remnants of the streetcar are a handful of manhole covers with the letters "A&P RR" from the old http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anacostia_and_Potomac_River_Railroad">Anacostia and Potomac River Railroad. I've seen four of them in the city - three on 11th St SE and one on Maryland Ave NE. If I'm correct, their trains didn't run Maryland and didn't run on 11th north of Penn where I've seen the others.

by David C on Jan 13, 2011 3:14 pm • link • report

Additionally, we need to include Slash Run which ran from what is nowadays "14th and U" down through the heart of current Dupont before emptying into Rock Creek. It was supposedly used for slaughtering operations (hence the name) and was what made the area a very marshy area before Boss Shepherd put it underground as part of the efforts of draining the area, laying pipes and building roads in the 1870s. I believe it's still part of our sewer system and from what I can tell runs under lots of houses and buildings since the it goes diagonally, and most of the roads are in a square grid.

by Lance on Jan 13, 2011 4:58 pm • link • report

I got detained back in November for accidentally finding myself along the Capitol Subway... it was a fun lesson about going through open doors that don't have any signs saying not to go through them :)

by Bossi on Jan 13, 2011 7:16 pm • link • report

Bossi, Where those doors in the Capitol? or in the Metro? I think I remember in Don Brown's 'Lost Symbols' that there are secret connections between the Metro and the Capitol Subway.

by Lance on Jan 14, 2011 8:34 am • link • report

How is "Aqueduct Bridge" a non sequitur? If anything it repeats itself, as many aqueducts include both bridges and viaducts.

I'd include the Georgetown branch bridge in Georgetown, which looks like an ancient relic but makes perfect sense once you know about the railroad.

by charlie on Jan 14, 2011 9:36 am • link • report

@Lance-

It was actually from the LoC tunnels. I had just gotten my card and asked to what areas I was permitted to go both in the tunnels & in the libraries, and they responded that if there's no sign saying you can't do it: then you can do it.

So I put that into practice, and a good meandering hike around a maze of utilitarian tunnels later: I found myself looking at a trackway that looked oddly similar to photos I'd seen on Wikipedia. 100% open doors the whole way there.

Funny thing is is that along my departure: I passed right by a guard & even asked him for directions back to the LoC areas... it wasn't until about 2 hrs later when I was picked up.

As for connections between the Capitol & the actual Metro system: I'd heard those rumors well before Dan Brown wrote about 'em, so I'd say there's either a strong truth to that (which wouldn't surprise me) or it's local folklore that's probably been around since the earliest days of Metro.

by Bossi on Jan 14, 2011 10:32 am • link • report

There's an aqueduct bridge still in use, in Cabin John, MD. Known variously as the Cabin John Bridge (a name once applied also to the bridge now known as the American Legion Bridge) and the Union Arch Bridge, it's the oldest bridge in the Washington area. It was built as part of the Washington Aqueduct, which still supplies the city with water, between 1853 and 1864, under the supervision of the remarkable Montgomery Meigs. At the time it was completed, it was the longest masonry arch in the world. In addition to carrying the aqueduct over Cabin John Creek and Cabin John Parkway, it carries a one-lane bit of MacArthur Boulevard. It's unfortunately difficult to get a good look at it except from a moving automobile.

by Herschel on Jan 14, 2011 10:42 am • link • report

I was biting my lip not to, but now my lip is chapped so I suppose I'll just go ahead and add in another location: the Monocacy Aquaduct in Dickerson now provides a ped/bike connection as part of the C&O Canal Trail.

by Bossi on Jan 14, 2011 10:48 am • link • report

Having worked on Capitol Hill (House and Senate side, in 4 different office buildings) on and off since 2001, I can assure you that there's no Metro/Capitol connection. Now, the Capitol South stop is directly across the street from Cannon HOB and it is easy to walk from Cannon to most of the other buildings in the Capitol Complex (including LOC buildings, Senate buildings, the Capitol itself) using tunnels/internal subways.

In terms of you being stopped, this is a tricky gray area. These are all public buildings (the Capitol, too) and you have every right to just walk right on in. You used to be able to walk right up the East Front steps and go through the main doors off of the Rotunda. In recent years, for obvious reasons, they've seriously tightened security, particularly in the Capitol. Now, anyone entering the Capitol through anything but the Capitol Visitors Center should have a congressional, military, press or official visitors' ID. That means that if you want to walk/subway into the Capitol from either the House or Senate office buildings, the Capitol Police should ask for your ID, and if you don't have one, prevent you from going into the tunnels to the Capitol, and direct you to the CVC.

You must have slipped through the cracks somehow (and from LOC, I'm trying to picture exactly how, which is a bit puzzling). It's much easier to accidentally get through from the Senate side.

by Catherine on Jan 14, 2011 11:20 am • link • report

@ Catherine: In recent years, for obvious reasons, they've seriously tightened security

I am not sure those reasons are obvious. As far as I can see, there is no logical reason for the *increased* security.

by Jasper on Jan 14, 2011 12:18 pm • link • report

@Jasper -- something like 49 credible threats on Senators last year, that whole antrax thing, and the guy who who killed two police officers trying to shoot his way in 1998?

I find security theater pretty annoying and some of it impossible to justify but I think security at the Capitol Complex is one they can justify.

by Kate on Jan 14, 2011 12:38 pm • link • report

@Bossi, Thanks for the explanation. And, now that you mention it, I think Dan Brown mentions the connection to the Capitol Subway from the Library of Congress ... where a lot of the action in the book happens.

by Lance on Jan 14, 2011 5:27 pm • link • report

I was born in Columbia Hospital in 1940, and lived on Carroll Street, S.E. Carroll Street was taken out completely and replaced by a Gov't Bldg. ....when my siblings (7) were small kids, we used to ride on the Capitol Subway just about every day, and it was great fun....we lived just across from the Capitol and my sister and I played with our dolls on the Capitol grounds and steps....we were in and out of all the Government buildings and Museums constantly with no restrictions at all..........it was wonderful growing up in Washington, D.C. at that time, we had liberties then that our children and grandchildren will never know.....we were so lucky, and I am so grateful for those special privileges that no longer are available today.

by Doris Balenger on Jan 15, 2011 6:16 pm • link • report

I think it's sad that the Capitol Subway is no longer open to visitors. I rode back in the 90s when visiting the DC sites with my parents. Most visitors wouldn't bother to look for it anyways (it's not like there were huge signs telling you where it was), but for the ones in the know, it was a great trick to easily get back 'n' forth between the Capitol and the office buildings. Of course, it was also great to be able to just walk around and up to the Capitol - the People's Building. [Sigh]

by Janel on Jan 17, 2011 10:02 pm • link • report

(it's not like there were huge signs telling you where it was)

There are huge signs telling you where it is (if you know where to look for the signs, that is...)

by andrew on Jan 17, 2011 11:05 pm • link • report