It’s finally opened. I wrote about this “house” a while ago, as it stood on the corner of 17th Street and what is now known as Constitution Avenue. And, this delayed opening was not quite as bad as a site I passed during my birthday celebration in Manhattan. (The signs on E. 40th Street stated: Under Construction. To be completed in the Summer of 2016. Even though it was almost Fall 2018 and nowhere near done.) This is only 7 or 8 months late- but only open temporarily for now.
This lockkeeper’s house is no longer contiguous to any canals nor even the rivers of DC (that have been mostly rerouted or buried). But, it’s been rolled about 50 feet and been given a $ 6 million”restoration”.
The National Park Service kept the stonework as it was- but the building needed a new roof. And, to induce visitors to come, a granite plaza was constructed. (This section of the National Mall is to be known as Constitution Gardens.)
Since I brought my kids to a bunch of canals and explained to them how those old modes of transport worked, they understand that a lock (a portion of the canal) would be closed (by hand, then), and then water levels would be adjusted to let the boats (carrying cargo) float up or down. (In this case, the route went to Cumberland, MD from the District.) And, this house is similar to several of the other extant lockhouses along the C&O (the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal)- but those are not in prominent visitor locations.
But, because this oldest building on the mall was moved back in 1916 (it was originally constructed and in use from 1837- before the Washington Memorial was even started), and the canals near the Mall (and downtown [no snickering, please] DC) long ago, we have no idea exactly where it was initially. (The house was moved in 1916 to allow construction of the Lincoln Memorial opposite the already finished Washington Memorial on the Mall. (After the 40 year construction period for the Washington Memorial, which is when the canals and rivers covering portions of DC were obliterated.)
We do know that the Washington City Canal was nearby to this lockhouse. It was where Constitution Avenue (when it was first filled in, it was known as B Street) is situated today- hitting the Capital and connecting to the Anacostia portion of the Potomac river.
A remnant of a true bygone era.
It IS worth a visit.
I remember reading about this when you first wrote the previous post. We are yet to make our trip out east so now this is an additional stop on our visit to the capital
Hopefully, it will be open when you come. It is scheduled to close for a bit,Vidya.