Washington Aqueduct
- Architects
- United States Army Corps of Engineers Montgomery C. Meigs
- Year
- 1864
- City
- Washington, DC
Congress commissioned the Washington Aqueduct in 1852 to carry Potomac River water into the capital, one of the first major aqueduct projects built in the United States. Construction began in 1853 under Montgomery C. Meigs and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; portions opened on January 3, 1859, and the full line was running by 1864 — the Corps has operated it continuously ever since.
the building
The pipeline route. A 12-mile pipeline forms the system's centerpiece, running from the dam at Great Falls to the Dalecarlia Reservoir on the Maryland border. A portion of the line is carried on the Union Arch Bridge, separately recognized as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
the architect
Montgomery C. Meigs, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officer, supervised construction from 1853; the Corps of Engineers has owned and operated the aqueduct ever since.
significance
Designated a National Historic Landmark, and still supplies public water systems in D.C. and nearby Virginia, including Arlington County, Falls Church, and part of Fairfax County.
nearby
- Kameny, Franklin E., Residence
- Bazelon-McGovern House
- Glen Hurst
- Kreeger Museum
- Engine Company No. 29 (Palisades Firehouse)
- Sears, Roebuck & Company Department Store