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Old Naval Observatory

Coordinates: 38°53′42″N 77°03′05″W / 38.895103°N 77.051443°W / 38.895103; -77.051443
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Old Naval Observatory
Old Naval Observatory is located in Central Washington, D.C.
Old Naval Observatory
Old Naval Observatory is located in the District of Columbia
Old Naval Observatory
Old Naval Observatory is located in the United States
Old Naval Observatory
Location23rd Street and E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.
Coordinates38°53′42″N 77°03′05″W / 38.895103°N 77.051443°W / 38.895103; -77.051443
Built1844 (1844)
ArchitectJames Gilliss
NRHP reference No.66000864
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966[1]
Designated NHLJanuary 12, 1965[2]

The Old Naval Observatory is a historic site at 23rd and E Street in Northwest, Washington, D.C.. It is where the United States Naval Observatory was located from 1844 to 1893, when it moved to its present grounds. The original observatory building, built 1839-40, still stands, and is a designated National Historic Landmark.[2] The Washington meridian of 1850 passes through the Observatory. The property for many years housed the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, which moved out in 2012. The property has been taken over by the State Department.

History

The observatory operated from 1844 to 1893 when it was closed in favor of a new U.S. Naval Observatory facility on Massachusetts Avenue. The building and grounds were retained by the U.S. Navy, which first used it to house the Naval Museum of Hygiene from 1894 to 1902. Beginning in 1903, the Naval Medical Hospital was constructed on the grounds, and it remained in use until 1942, when hospital operations were transferred to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.[3] It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965.[2][4]

The facility housed the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery until 2012.[5] The grounds and observatory are closed to the public. The entire Navy Hill is being transferred to the United States Department of State due to Base Realignment and Closure, and the Navy will be moving out. The Central Intelligence Agency's forerunner, the Office of Strategic Services was a tenant on the Hill during World War II, and the United States Public Health Service had a hospital there.

In 2014, the Department of State began expanding into the Navy Hill. A joint venture consisting of the architectural firms of Goody, Clancy and the Louis Berger Group won a $2.5 million contract in January 2014 to begin planning the renovation of the buildings on the 11.8-acre (4.8 ha) Navy Hill campus.[6]

References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c "Old Naval Observatory". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2008-05-12. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Inci A. Bowman (September 13, 2006). "Historic Medical Sites in the Washington, DC Area". National Library of Medicine. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ Blanche H. Schroer and Steven H. Lewis (March 3, 1977). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Old Naval Observatory". National Park Service. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) and Accompanying nine photos, exterior and interior, from 1873, 1975, and undated
  5. ^ Pilip-Florea, Shonona. "Navy Medicine Headquarters Moves to Falls Church, Va." America's Navy May 30, 2012 Accessed 2014-05-16.
  6. ^ Sernovitz, Daniel J. "Boston Firm Picked for State Department Consolidation." Washington Business Journal. January 14, 2014. Accessed 2014-01-14.
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