Old Naval Observatory

Year: 1843
City: Washington, DC

The Old Naval Observatory at 23rd and E Streets NW was built in 1839-40 and served as home to the United States Naval Observatory from 1844 to 1893, built to let American astronomers compete with European observatories. Matthew Fontaine Maury served as its first superintendent, and the Washington meridian of 1850 passes through the site.

the building

Navy Hill and the Potomac Annex. The campus splits into two parts: the Potomac Annex atop the hill, where the original observatory building stands, and the E Street Complex, known as Navy Hill, farther down the slope; the E Street Complex was separately designated a National Historic Landmark in 2016.

significance

The original observatory building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965, and the E Street Complex followed in 2016. The campus later housed the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery until 2012, after which it was taken over by the State Department.

nearby

United States Institute of Peace Headquarters 0.2 mi · Contemporary Modern · 2011
American Institute of Pharmacy (American Pharmacists Association) 0.2 mi · Neoclassical · 1932
Harry S. Truman Federal Building 0.2 mi · Rustic (Parkitecture) · 1941
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 0.2 mi · 1971
National Academy of Sciences 0.3 mi · Neoclassical
Watergate Complex 0.3 mi

All 315 buildings in Washington, DC