The towering figures were created from the cemetery's fallen old-growth trees. Atlas Obscura and our trusted partners use technology such as cookies on our website to personalise ads, support social media features, and analyse our traffic. The plan was unanimously approved by the Historic Preservation Review Board in May of 2016, which will vote on the buildings on the site but not the overall Master Plan for redevelopment. A chief culprit was the city water supply. Until recently, specially arranged biannual tours were arranged for scores of visitors curious about the odd-looking structures. Its innovative system of water purification, which relied on sand rather than chemicals, led to the elimination of typhoid epidemics and the reduction of many other communicable diseases in the city. It included the site on their "List of Most Endangered Properties in 2000"[1] and again in 2005.[2]. The National Capital Revitalization Corporation (NCRC), a development agency created by the city, selected the site as part of a land swap deal involving Anacostia riverfront property and the construction of the Nationals Park baseball stadium. Please click below to consent to the use of this technology while browsing our site. ", "Mayor Fenty Announces Development Partner for Former McMillan Sand Filtration Site", "The fight to develop McMillan Park continues: Court rules against zoning commission", DC Government Office of Planning McMillan Reservoir Project, McMillan Park Reservoir National Historic Listing, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=McMillan_Sand_Filtration_Site&oldid=984450406. Since the time of purchase, the property has remained unused and closed to the public. In 1991, the D.C. View the Guidance. See. The site is part of a larger 92-acre historic fabric that comprises the McMillan Reservoir, the McMillan Slow Sand Filtration Plant, and the McMillan Pumping Station that was owned and operated by the federal government. Sign up for our newsletter and enter to win the second edition of our book. As such, the nation’s foremost landscape architect was called in to devise a plan to pretty up the filtration site. At the time there was a different, more positive image of Washington’s water supply as a Public Work, and not merely a piece of infrastructure. In 2013, DC Water proposed a plan to use McMillan to provide neighborhood relief of flooding that plagued the Bloomingdale neighborhood, in which the site is situated. During World War I the Girl Scouts camped and grew vegetables on the site between North Capitol Street and First Street. It is bound on the north by Michigan Avenue, on the east by North Capitol Street, on the south by Channing Street and on the west by First Street. The site was obsolete by the late 20th century and declared surplus in 1986. For a time, it was a popular destination for picnics, outdoor activities, or a quiet stroll away from the bustle of city life. "List of Most Endangered Properties in 2000. coronavirus.dc.gov Offer available only in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). The unfiltered Washington Aqueduct carried a stream laced with bacteria and a notorious amount of Potomac mud, described by a Washington Post reporter as a “Seal-brown mixture of water and real estate.”. Like us on Facebook to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. These abandoned waterworks are crumbling into the Potomac River. The treatment system is operated by the Army Corps of Engineers. Its backers aimed to benefit society by taking on the squalid urban conditions of the Industrial Revolution. Enormous quantities of fresh sand were stored aboveground in parallel rows of stubby concrete silos. Occasionally the property has been opened to the public for limited tours but not with any regularity. "[5], During the Corps of Engineers’ ownership, no commercial development of the site occurred. DC Entered Phase Two of Reopening on June 22. The purification system was a slow sand filter design that became obsolete by the late 20th century. In 1985, a new rapid sand filter plant replaced it across First Street beside the reservoir. It is a fantastic opportunity for preservation and a redevelopment project similar to New York’s, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington Aqueduct Emergency Pumping Station, http://friendsofmcmillan.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Vision-McMillan-Partners_Historic-Preservation-Report_28Jul2010.pdf. The site was never reopened to the public on the same basis as before the war. The iconic silos were used to store replacement sand above ground. DC Entered Phase Two of Reopening on June 22. McMillan Sand Filtration Site is a twenty-five acre green space and decommissioned water treatment plant in northwest Washington, D.C. connected to the McMillan Reservoir. Buildings and structures in Washington, D.C. "[citation needed], The site's future became uncertain, though, in 1986 when the Corps of Engineers declared the property surplus and asked the General Services Administration to dispose of it. The skeletal frame of a decommissioned gas-pumping station offers breathtaking views of greater Berlin. The facility relied entirely on sand to clean the water; at the time, this method scaled better and was more cost effective than using chemicals. Olmsted was so concerned about this condition that he thought it was, “perhaps inexpedient to admit the public to use the plain even upon a fenced path.”. McMillan site may soon see some demolition required for redevelopment. Winner will be selected at random on 11/01/2020. No purchase necessary. [4] Boys played ball games on the east portion where there were fewer manhole covers near Michigan Avenue. Read Mayor Bowser’s Presentation on DC’s COVID-19 Situational Update: October 26. Every weekday we compile our most wondrous stories and deliver them straight to you. The DMPED Real Estate Project Pipeline provides our stakeholders with real time updates on the status of real estate projects located across the District of Columbia. The VMP proposal has met with opposition from some neighborhood groups. Consider supporting our work by becoming a member for as little as $5 a month. The goal is to create an architecturally distinct, vibrant, mixed-use development that provides housing, employment, retail, cultural, and recreational opportunities for District residents. Offer subject to change without notice. Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. designed a public park at the McMillan Sand Filtration Site that became an important community gathering place for northeast District residents. [3] A legacy of the City Beautiful Movement and an integral part of the McMillan Plan to modernize Washington, the complex is an engineering wonder that served its original purpose until 1986. As such, the nation’s foremost landscape architect was called in to devise a plan to pretty up the filtration site. According to a historic preservation report, the sand was brought in from Laurel, Maryland on the B&O Railroad and “went through an extensive preparation process to meet specifications for cleanliness, removing all traces of clay and other undesirable particles.”. This weekend we got a rare tour of the dormant McMillan Sand Filtration Site just north of Bloomingdale. DC Small Business Recovery Microgrant Program, Kennedy Street, NW Economic Development and Small Business Revitalization Advisory Committee, Development Opportunities and Solicitations, DC China Center Key Objectives and Programs, PR20-1081 - McMillan Surplus Declaration and Approval Resolution of 2014, PR20-1082 - McMillan – Residential Townhomes Parcel Disposition Approval Resolution of 2014, PR20-1083 - McMillan – Residential Multifamily Parcels Disposition Approval Resolution of 2014, PR20-1084 - McMillan – Commercial Parcels Disposition Approval Resolution of 2014, PR21-0307 - McMillan Townhomes Parcel, Commercial Parcel, and Multifamily Parcels Disposition Extension Approval Resolution of 2015, Mayor Bowser Breaks Ground on McMillan Redevelopment in Ward 5, McMillan site may soon see some demolition required for redevelopment, McMillan Development Gets Key Historic Preservation Approval, McMillan Sand Filtration Site - Investor Handout Fall 2015, McMillan Surplus Comments - Transcription of Public Hearing - June 6, 2013, McMillan Surplus Comments - Electronic Testimonies- Public Hearing - June 6, 2013. (The government dissolved the NCRC in 2007 and merged its functions into the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development.[7]). It is a fantastic opportunity for preservation and a redevelopment project similar to New York’s High Line. Follow us on social media to add even more wonder to your day. Two paved courts lined by regulator houses, tower-like sand bins, sand washers and the gated entrances to the underground filter cells provided a promenade for citizens taking the air in the park before it was fenced off in WWII. © 2020 Atlas Obscura. ", "List of Most Endangered Properties in 2005. Shortly after the new city reservoir was completed at Howard University, Congress authorized funds for an adjacent filtration site to address the public health situation. Testimony of Anne Sellin re B16-0902, the Transfer of McMillan Park Reservoir to NCRC, October 20, 2006. D.C. city government purchased the McMillan Sand Filtration Site after it closed in 1986, but the land has been abandoned and largely untended. Dangers of falling through rotting/rusting manhole covers or into large pits are only a few risks that a person would be taking. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. D.C. city government purchased the McMillan Sand Filtration Site after it closed in 1986, but the land has been abandoned and largely untended. The 20 massive cisterns have fallen into neglect, and in some cases have suffered collapse. Below grade, there are twenty catacomb-like cells, each an acre in extent, where sand was used to filter water from the Potomac River by way of the Washington Aqueduct. Two paved courts lined by regulator houses, tower-like sand bins, sand washers and the gated entrances to the und… We depend on ad revenue to craft and curate stories about the world’s hidden wonders. Mayor Bowser Breaks Ground on McMillan Redevelopment in Ward 5   The plan calls for the use of two cells to retain water, and to demolish a number of cells in order to provide access to the tunnel they will build on First Street, NW to manage the system. Water percolated through four feet of sand in 25 underground vaults to filter out undesirables.

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