Lady Bird Johnson Park, formerly known as Columbia Island until 1968, is an island located in the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, in the United States. It formed naturally as an extension of
Analostan Island in the latter part of the 1800s, and over time erosion and flooding severed it from Analostan, now known as Theodore Roosevelt Island. The U.S. federal government deposited material dredged from the Potomac River on the island between 1911 and 1922, and again from 1925 to 1927. The island was also reshaped by the government at this time "to serve as the western terminus of Arlington Memorial Bridge and a symbolic entrance into the nation’s capital." Located within the park are the
Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove
Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove on the Potomac is located on Columbia Island (renamed Lady Bird Johnson Park in 1968), in Washington, D.C. The presidential memorial honors the 36th President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson.
T ...
,
Navy – Merchant Marine Memorial
The Navy – Merchant Marine Memorial, located in Lady Bird Johnson Park on Columbia Island in Washington, D.C., is a monument honoring sailors of the United States Navy, Coast Guard, the United States Merchant Marine, the NOAA Commissioned Offi ...
, and the Columbia Island Marina. The island, park, memorials, and marina are part of the
George Washington Memorial Parkway
The George Washington Memorial Parkway, colloquially the G.W. Parkway, is a parkway that runs along the south bank of the Potomac River from Mount Vernon, Virginia, northwest to McLean, Virginia, and is maintained by the National Park Service ( ...
and administered by the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
.
Early formation of Columbia Island
Columbia Island is in part natural, and in part man-made. Columbia Island did not exist in 1818 and at that time, Analostan Island (now known as
Theodore Roosevelt Island
Theodore Roosevelt Island is an island and national memorial located in the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. During the Civil War, it was used as a training camp for the United States Colored Troops. The island was given to the federal gover ...
) was largely rock and quite close to the D.C. shoreline. Due to deforestation and increased agricultural use upstream, the river eroded much of the northern bank and widened the gap between Analostan Island and the shore and simultaneously large deposits of silt built up around Analostan Island. By 1838, Analostan had almost doubled in length toward the south and by 1884, the new southern part of Analostan Island was defined and built up, and supported a well-established
wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
. However, the river gradually eroded the center of Analostan Island, severing Columbia Island from its parent body.
[Office of Conservation, Interpretation, and Use, pp. 48–49; Moore and Jackson, p. 91.]
Between 1911 and 1922, the Potomac River was repeatedly dredged to deepen the channel and to widen the distance between Analostan/Theodore Roosevelt Island and Columbia Island (so that the "Virginia Channel" west of Analostan/Roosevelt Island would not flood easily). Dredged material was piled high on Columbia Island, helping to build it higher, lengthen and broaden it, and give it its current shape.
Filling in of the island was complete in the spring of 1924.
The new island received its name in about 1918 from an unnamed engineer working for the District of Columbia
[Secrest, Meryle. "Park Named for Mrs. Johnson." ''Washington Post.'' November 13, 1968.] and the first use of this name in ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' was in April 1922, the same year it was transferred to the National Park Service.
Expanding and developing Columbia Island
Arlington Memorial Bridge and the expansion of Columbia Island
![Dredging operations in Potomac River - 1930](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Dredging_operations_in_Potomac_River_-_1930.jpg)
In 1922, Congress authorized the Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission (AMBC) to hold a design competition for the proposed
Arlington Memorial Bridge
The Arlington Memorial Bridge is a Neoclassical masonry, steel, and stone arch bridge with a central bascule (or drawbridge) that crosses the Potomac River at Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. First proposed in 1886, the brid ...
. It awarded the design commission to the firm if
McKim, Mead and White
McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm that came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York. The firm's founding partners Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), ...
, which appointed architect William Mitchell Kendall to be the lead designer. Congress subsequently authorized construction of Kendall's bridge on February 24, 1925. The legislation authorizing construction of the bridge also provided for the construction of approaches (on-ramps, off-ramps, and pedestrian areas) on both the D.C. and Virginia ends of the bridge; for the improvement of
B Street NW as a new ceremonial avenue to link to the bridge; and for the construction of a roadway (eventually called
Memorial Drive) between the bridge and the main gate of
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
as well as a new ceremonial entrance at this gate (subsequently known as the
Hemicycle
In legislatures, a hemicycle is a semicircular, or horseshoe-shaped, debating chamber (''plenary chamber''), where deputies (members) sit to discuss and pass legislation. Although originally of Ancient Greek roots, the term and modern design der ...
).
Preliminary designs for the bridge showed it terminating on Columbia Island,
["Island to Be Remade in New Bridge Plans." ''Washington Post.'' April 15, 1925.] which necessitated expansion of Columbia Island. The
already planned to dredge the Potomac River and enlarge Columbia Island, so on April 1,
Secretary of War
The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
John W. Weeks
John Wingate Weeks (April 11, 1860July 12, 1926) was an American banker and politician from Massachusetts. A Republican, he served as Mayor of Newton from 1902 to 1903, a United States representative from 1905 to 1913, United States Senator fr ...
ordered the expenditure of $114,500 to dredge the river between the
Highway Bridge and the Lincoln memorial. The dredged material was to be dumped on Columbia Island. To ensure the island could support the bridge, the Corps also planned to construct a
levee
A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually soil, earthen and that often runs parallel (geometry), parallel to ...
around the island.
The Corps reached an agreement with the AMBC in April 1925 to jointly share the cost of dredging, which involved the removal of of river bottom, and the construction of of seawall and of levee. About of Columbia Island was to be removed in order to widen the main Potomac River channel, and the height of the island raised from above average water level to over two years.
Early designs for Columbia Island
In addition to the ABMC and Corps of Engineers, the
United States Commission of Fine Arts
The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States, and was established in 1910. The CFA has review (but not approval) authority over the "design and aesthetics" of all construction wit ...
(CFA) and the
National Capital Parks Commission (NCPC) both had authority to approve aspects of the bridge. The CFA had extensive authority to review the look of the bridge.
The CFA and NCPC first discussed the bridge approaches in January 1926, when they met jointly to discuss how the Virginia terminus would serve as a gateway to Washington.
["Commissions Plan Gateway in Virginia as City Entrance." ''Washington Post.'' January 8, 1926.] The two bodies agreed to a proposal by urban planner C.A.S. Sinclair, who proposed a series of roads radiating outward from the Virginia end of the bridge. However, in December 1926, the CFA learned that Arlington National Cemetery was likely to expand eastward onto the property of the
USDA
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...
Experimental Farm (which lay east of
Arlington Ridge Road). Because this significantly impacted the approaches to the bridge, the CFA asked Kendall to restudy Sinclair's proposal for the Columbia Island terminus.
["Grant Is Told Need of Bridge Restudy By Fine Arts Group." ''Washington Post.'' December 28, 1926.]["New Study Ordered of Memorial Bridge." ''Washington Post.'' December 29, 1926.] Kendall presented the revised design for the street and highway approaches for the Virginia landing in May 1927. His plan was for a series of traffic circles on Columbia Island.
By June 30, 1927, dredging of the Potomac River was nearly complete. The reshaping of Columbia Island was finished, and the island had risen to feet above water.
[Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital, 1927, p. 20.]["Park Board Seeks to Beautify Land Between Bridges." ''Washington Post.'' July 19, 1927.] The following month, work began on the engineering and architectural drawings for the
Boundary Channel Bridge. This bridge would cross
Boundary Channel (which separated Columbia Island from Virginia) to connect Arlington Memorial Bridge with the planned Memorial Drive.
[Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital, 1928, p. 51.]
Kendall's May 1927 design for Columbia Island generated lengthy debate for two years. Architect
Milton Bennett Medary
Milton Bennett Medary Jr. (February 6, 1874 – August 7, 1929) was an American architect from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, practicing with the firm Zantzinger, Borie and Medary from 1910 until his death.
Biography
Medary attended the University ...
(who left the CFA in 1927) wrote to the Commission of Fine Arts in January 1928 after having seen Kendall's proposal. Medary argued that the
National Mall
The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institut ...
ended with the Lincoln Memorial and the two great roads leading from it – the
Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway
The Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, informally called the Rock Creek Parkway, is a parkway maintained by the National Park Service as part of Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. It runs next to the Potomac River and Rock Creek in a generally n ...
(RCPP) and the Arlington Memorial Bridge. Columbia Island, he said, should reflect a simple, formal dignity that helps ease the transition from the
Neoclassical mall and bridge to the informal landscaping of Arlington National Cemetery.
[Kohler, p. 24.] Medary's argument proved persuasive to the CFA, and in late May the commission and Kendall announced a revised treatment in which a great plaza would be built on Columbia Island. From this plaza, roads would lead across the island to bridges which would connect with the proposed
Mount Vernon Memorial Parkway and
Lee Highway. The traffic circles were eliminated, and Columbia Island would be reshaped to allow for the north–south roadway to pass along the axis of the island. The great plaza was intended to contain two high columns representing the
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
and the
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
. The two columns were to be surmounted by gold statues of
Nike
Nike often refers to:
* Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory
* Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment
Nike may also refer to:
People
* Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...
. Additionally, the CFA concluded that there should be two high
pylons
Pylon may refer to:
Structures and boundaries
* Pylon (architecture), the gateway to the inner part of an Ancient Egyptian temple or Christian cathedral
* Pylon, a support tower structure for suspension bridges or highways
* Pylon, an orange mar ...
at both the eastern and western ends of the bridge. These pylons were to be inscribed with
bas-relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
images representing national accomplishments, and topped by statues of golden eagles.
["Big Plaza for End of Arlington Span Planned By Board." ''Washington Post.'' May 25, 1928.] Kendall's design also included two large, round
Greek Revival
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...
temples close to the bridge on the island's east side, and several larger-than-life Greek Revival and
Romanesque Revival
Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...
statues scattered about the island.
[Kohler, pp. 24–25.]
Early construction: Boundary Channel Bridge
![USSAkronOverWashingtonDC](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/USSAkronOverWashingtonDC.jpg)
Bids for the construction of the Boundary Channel Bridge were opened on July 18, 1928.
[Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital, 1928, p. 52.] The project was divided among several contractors. North Carolina Granite Co. provided the below-water granite, Hallowell Granite Works provided the granite for the
voussoir
A voussoir () is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault.
Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The ...
s and the facing on the piers above mean low water level. The
Woodbury Granite Company
The Woodbury Granite Company (WGC) was a producer of rough and finished granite products. Incorporated in 1887, purchased and significantly reorganized in 1896, and expanded by merger in 1902 and thereafter, the company operated quarries principa ...
provided the
coping
Coping refers to conscious strategies used to reduce unpleasant emotions. Coping strategies can be cognitions or behaviours and can be individual or social.
Theories of coping
Hundreds of coping strategies have been proposed in an attempt to ...
granite and
balustrade
A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...
s. Hallowell delivered its granite in May 1929, North Carolina Granite delivered its by June, and Woodbury Granite delivered roughly half its granite by June 30, 1929.
[Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital, 1929, p. 66.] The construction contract itself was awarded to the N.P. Severin Company in October 1928.
Nearly a year passed before the CFA approved pylon designs for Columbia Island in March 1929. But the great plaza and roads on the island needed further study.
Work on the Boundary Channel Bridge began in the spring of 1929, but immediately ran into problems. An unstable rock shelf thick lay under the western abutment of the Arlington Memorial Bridge. This "rotten rock" had not been revealed by borings two years earlier, but now came to light as construction began on the Boundary Channel Bridge. Additionally, a thin layer of sand and gravel was discovered lying atop the bedrock of the eastern abutment of the Boundary Channel Bridge. Both obstacles had to be removed before construction could proceed further.
By June 30, 1929, the Arlington Memorial Bridge's western abutment was finished (except for exterior masonry facing), and many of the concrete columns for the Boundary Channel Bridge were also finished.
By the end of June 1930, some additional filling in of Columbia Island was all that was needed to finish the Arlington Memorial Bridge. But no construction had occurred on the Columbia Island great plaza, its monumental columns, or the two pylons as the CFA had still not approved a final design for these. Additionally, work on the western half of the Boundary Channel Bridge had come to a standstill. Tracks of the
Rosslyn Branch Rosslyn can refer to: Places
Africa
* Rosslyn, Gauteng, South Africa
* Rosslyn Academy, a school in Nairobi, Kenya
Australia
* Rosslyn, Queensland, a town on the Capricorn Coast in the Shire of Livingstone
Europe
* Roslin, Midlothian, Scot ...
of the
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
ran along the Virginia shoreline. In order to avoid an
at-grade crossing with Memorial Drive, the CFA proposed in June 1927 that these tracks be lower by . Since that meant extending the Boundary Channel Bridge, new engineering studies of the bridge were needed. The Corps and CFA were still studying how to depress the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks three years later.
[Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital, 1930, p. 81.] Informal negotiations had, by the end of June 1930, come to an agreement that the line would be moved closer to the river, and that an underpass through the bridge (accommodating two side-by-side tracks) and the depressed tracks should be constructed first before the railroad took title to the new line. This would permit uninterrupted rail service. The Pennsylvania Railroad also agreed to cede the old right-of-way to the government once the new tracks and tunnel were operational. Otherwise, construction on the Boundary Channel Bridge was complete.
[Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital, 1930, p. 79.]
Revisions to the Great Plaza
![Looking W across Columbia Island down Memorial Drive at Arlington National Cemetery - 1930s](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Looking_W_across_Columbia_Island_down_Memorial_Drive_at_Arlington_National_Cemetery_-_1930s.jpg)
The CFA again considered designs for the Columbia Island plaza in July 1930. Repairs to the levees on Columbia Island were made that same month. In September, the CFA reviewed but did not approve designs for the memorial columns, and for additional landscaping on the island. CFA members began to question whether the columns were effective in memorializing the reunited North and South, although there was still agreement that they were integral to the great plaza's design. Nonetheless, Kendall was asked to restudy the issue yet again.
Additionally, by now the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
was having a severe and negative impact on funding for the entire Arlington Memorial Bridge project. With the bridge and its connection to Arlington National Cemetery essentially finished, Congress hesitated to provide funds for Columbia Island. To cut costs, the CFA deleted the Green Revival temples and the many statues scheduled for Columbia Island. Rather than building extensive roads north and south on the island when no connections were ready to be made, the CFA also agreed that only short segments of these avenues be built adjacent to the great plaza.
Eliminating the statuary on the island and on the Boundary Channel Bridge saved $478,000.
["Arlington Memorial Bridge." ''Washington Post.'' January 20, 1931.]
Due to settling, additional dredged material was deposited on Columbia Island in October and November 1930. The new goal was to raise the island to above the average water level.
There were still problems in designing the final segment of Boundary Channel Bridge in November 1930, but the road across Columbia Island connecting Arlington Memorial Bridge with Boundary Channel Bridge was finished in December.
The CFA continued to wrestle with Columbia Island's great plaza design in 1931. The commission again discussed the columns in January, and eliminated a granite balustrade around the great plaza (saving $400,000).
But by September, the agency still had come to no resolution on redesigning the plaza.
Eliminating the memorial columns
Design issues surrounding the Columbia Island great plaza were resolved in late 1931 not by the CFA, but by President
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...
. Two airfields,
Hoover Field
Hoover Field was an early airport serving the city of Washington, D.C. It was constructed as a private airfield in 1925, but opened to public commercial use on July 16, 1926. It was located in Arlington, Virginia, near the intersection of the H ...
and
Washington Airport, existed in Virginia just south of Columbia Island. In the spring of 1931, AMBC executive officer
Ulysses S. Grant III
Ulysses Simpson Grant III (July 4, 1881August 29, 1968) was a United States Army officer and planner. He was the son of Frederick Dent Grant, and the grandson of General of the Army and American President Ulysses S. Grant.
Early life and educat ...
(then a
lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
with the Corps of Engineers) advised the AMBC and CFA that the huge memorial columns planned for Columbia Island would be a risk to aviation.
["200 Foot Columns For Bridge May Be Aviation Sacrifice." ''Washington Post.'' October 1, 1931.] Both bodies ignored him.
On September 28, 1931, the
United States Department of Commerce
The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for bu ...
told the CFA that the tall columns were a risk to aviation. The Commerce Department said that the columns would seriously interfere with air traffic using Hoover Field, and demanded that the CFA either eliminate the columns or floodlight them brightly. The
Washington Board of Trade added its opposition to the columns on September 29. Grant agreed that, should an investigation show a hazard, the columns would have to be eliminated.
The CFA agreed that street lights should be placed alongside the roads on Columbia Island both as an aid to vehicular traffic and as a means of warning air traffic. But the CFA was adamantly opposed to floodlighting the memorial columns, for they would compete with the softer lighting illuminating the Lincoln Memorial and
Arlington House Arlington House may refer to:
*Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial
*Arlington House (London) a hostel for the homeless in London, England, and one of the Rowton Houses
*Arlington House, Margate, an eighteen-storey residential apartment bloc ...
in Arlington National Cemetery. William Kendall, however, was so adamant about retaining the memorial columns that he personally wrote President Hoover (who technically chaired the AMBC) in early October 1931 outlining his reasons for keeping the columns and telling Hoover to move the airport if they interfered with flight.
[Kohler, p. 25.]
On October 12, Hoover ordered AMBC staff, Kendall, the CFA, and Arlington Memorial Bridge consulting engineer W. J. Douglas to restudy the columns. The ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' reported that several AMBC and CFA members, as well as member of Congress, were increasingly worried as well about the huge cost of the columns. The columns themselves were estimated to cost at least $500,000, with another $100,000 needed for their foundations. The CFA took up the issue at its regular meeting in early November. But when CFA members expressed skepticism about the issue,
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
Hiram Bingham (an aviation enthusiast) began organizing aviation interests to oppose them. Bingham also threatened to introduce legislation in Congress to bar any aviation hazards from being erected in the D.C. area. On November 27, 40 postal and air transport pilots wrote to President Hoover demanding that the pillars be eliminated. Three days later, the Board of Trade also contacted Hoover directly to lobby against the columns' erection.
Faced with overwhelming opposition, the AMBC voted to eliminate the columns in December 1931, and asked Kendall for yet another new design for Columbia Island.
In the wake of the AMBC's decision, proposals came from the public and architects outside the project to add either high-spouting fountains or towers which would retract whenever planes took off from the airports. But no decision was made.
["Lampposts Studied for Memorial Span." ''Washington Post.'' February 28, 1932.]
Completion of Columbia Island
![Traffic plaza on Columbia Island - Arlington Memorial Bridge - 2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Traffic_plaza_on_Columbia_Island_-_Arlington_Memorial_Bridge_-_2011.jpg)
By April 1932, work was well under way on relocating the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks. The new, slightly shifted route had been graded, tracks laid, and the western end of Boundary Channel Bridge designed. While there were some delays in completing the railroad underpass, work was well advanced. The formal dedication of the Hemicycle, Memorial Avenue, and Boundary Channel Bridge occurred on April 9.
Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
Ulysses S. Grant III
Ulysses Simpson Grant III (July 4, 1881August 29, 1968) was a United States Army officer and planner. He was the son of Frederick Dent Grant, and the grandson of General of the Army and American President Ulysses S. Grant.
Early life and educat ...
, executive director of the Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission and an officer in the Corps of Engineers, formally opened Memorial Avenue and the Boundary Channel Bridge. (Memorial Avenue was only wide and unpaved, but the Corps was working to have it widened to and have it paved by July 1.)
The worsening federal budgetary situation nearly led to a complete halt in Columbia Island's development. On April 7, 1932, the House of Representatives deleted the project's entire $840,000 budget for fiscal year 1933 (which began July 1, 1932). Design and other work on the great plaza came to an immediate halt. So did the Corps' final push to fill in the island, as well as all landscaping and road grading. The CFA met in November 1932 to discuss how the incomplete work might be fixed to appear complete or become functional.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
took office as President of the United States in March 1933. Convinced that massive federal spending on public works was essential not only to "prime the pump" of the economy but also to cut unemployment, Roosevelt proposed passage of the
National Industrial Recovery Act
The National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA) was a US labor law and consumer law passed by the 73rd US Congress to authorize the president to regulate industry for fair wages and prices that would stimulate economic recovery. It also ...
. The act contained $6 billion in public works spending. The act passed on June 13, 1933, and Roosevelt signed it into law on June 16. The
Public Works Administration (PWA) was immediately established to disburse the funds appropriated by the act.
On July 13, just a month after the PWA was formed, the agency announced a $3 million grant to finish work on Columbia Island and other parts of the Arlington Memorial Bridge project. The CFA and NCPC met in November to decide how to proceed on Columbia Island, which had only one link to Virginia – and that led only to Arlington National Cemetery. On December 4, the agencies announced that PWA money would be used to construct bridges on the north and south ends of the island in anticipation of links with Lee Highway and a new highway the state of Virginia and
Arlington County
Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...
were discussing constructing in the south. (The southern bridge carrying the parkway became known as the Humpback Bridge because it had a slight rise in its center.) To connect to these bridges, completion of the roads on Columbia Island was also needed. These roads were staked out in January 1934, and the CFA and NCPC began discussing whether a new, large traffic circle should be added to the center of the island to replace the bottleneck that a simple cross-axis would be. The engineering and architectural design for the northern bridge was approved in October 1936.
["Groups Study Car Parking In Triangle." ''Washington Post.'' October 24, 1936.]
The CFA further discussed what to do with the Columbia Island great plaza in January 1935, but again could come to no decision. Without funds, little action other than bridge construction or marginal improvements could be made. Improved landscaping designs for the Boundary Channel Bridge were also submitted in January 1935, and approved in March 1936. Seven months later, the CFA began studying the design for the lighting scheme for the Arlington Memorial Bridge, Columbia Island, and Memorial Drive.
Minor elements of Columbia Island were completed in the last years of the 1930s. A second northern bridge, designed to link with Lee Boulevard (now known as
Arlington Boulevard Arlington Boulevard is a major arterial road in Arlington County, Fairfax County, and the independent City of Fairfax in Northern Virginia in metropolitan Washington, DC, United States. It is designated U.S. Route 50 (US 50) for its entire ...
) was approved in 1937. The Joseph A. LaVezza & Sons construction company immediately began work on the $24,875 bridge. This new bridge, and (at last) the bridge over the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks were completed in July. Although the CFA continued to confer on plans concerning the great plaza as late as January 1938, no improvements were made. Memorial Avenue was completed in September 1938.
["Work Begun On Arlington Traffic Outlets." ''Washington Post.'' September 21, 1938.]
The final elements on Columbia Island were constructed in 1939 and 1940. In April 1939, Congress approved $100,000 to build the last connections between the bridges and central traffic circle on the island, as well as build sidewalks, trails, and parking lots and to improve landscaping there.
["House Votes Fund for Navy Memorial." ''Washington Post.'' April 18, 1939.] The CFA, after four years of deliberation, finally approved the lamppost design for the island in January 1940. The last major improvement to the island came in September 1940, when a "racetrack" feature – a larger outer traffic circle – was constructed to handle the rapidly increasing north–south traffic on the island. This permitted north–south motorists to avoid the bottleneck at the traffic circle (which now largely handled just east–west traffic).
Later history of Columbia Island until renaming
![Pentagon road network map 1945](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Pentagon_road_network_map_1945.jpg)
With filling operations on Columbia Island suspended in 1932, the island underwent a natural process of
settling
Settling is the process by which particulates move towards the bottom of a liquid and form a sediment. Particles that experience a force, either due to gravity or due to centrifugal motion will tend to move in a uniform manner in the direction e ...
. By 1941, settling had damaged the abutments of the Boundary Channel Bridge, and the
Bureau of Public Roads
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
placed steel struts under each abutment in April to shore them up.
Bridge work on Columbia Island continued in the 1940s. In January 1942, the
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...
realized that rapid expansion of the Pentagon workforce due to entry of the United States into World War II would put significant strain on the local road networks. A new arterial, Army-Navy Boulevard (now called Army-Navy Drive) was under construction to connect
Pentagon City
Pentagon City is an unincorporated neighborhood (also called an "urban village") located in the southeast portion of Arlington County, Virginia, near The Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery.
Location
Pentagon City is located less than a mil ...
and points south to the Pentagon. The road then continued northwest past the Pentagon to Columbia Island, where it was to run up the center of the island and connect with the Arlington Memorial Bridge. A bridge carrying Army-Navy Boulevard over the Boundary Channel was approved in January 1942. In 1948, the northwesterly bridge connecting Columbia Island to Lee Boulevard (now Arlington Boulevard) was rebuilt.
Another bridge linking Columbia Island and Virginia was proposed in 1958. At that time, one possible route for the
Theodore Roosevelt Bridge
The Theodore Roosevelt Bridge (also known as the Teddy Roosevelt Bridge or the Roosevelt Bridge) is a bridge crossing the Potomac River which connects Washington, D.C., with the Commonwealth of Virginia. The bridge crosses over Theodore Roosevelt ...
was south of Little Island (the southern tip of Theodore Roosevelt Island which had become detached from the main island due to erosion). District of Columbia officials asked permission in January 1958 to build a small approach bridge to the Roosevelt span over Boundary Channel, but the CFA refused a month later. By June 1958, the bridge's location had shifted north to the southern end of Theodore Roosevelt Island, making a bridge over Boundary Channel moot.
In 1958, the northwestern bridge linking Columbia Island to Arlington Boulevard (the former Lee Boulevard) was widened to six lanes from four. The northern bridge carrying the George Washington Memorial Parkway over Boundary Channel was realigned in late 1962 as part of a larger road realignment allowing Arlington Boulevard to link to the new Theodore Roosevelt Bridge. A traffic light, the only one anywhere on the parkway, was installed to control traffic during the realignment process. The new bridge was finished and the light removed in September 1964.
A year later, in September 1965, a new bridge just west of the South Washington Boulevard bridge opened. The George Washington Memorial Parkway was expanding north of its old terminus at Arlington Memorial Bridge, but this necessitated moving the parkway's southbound lanes onto the Virginia shoreline and off the northern part of Columbia Island. The new bridge connected the new parkway alignment with the old.
The Navy-Merchant Marine Memorial
![Navy Marine Memorial](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Navy_Marine_Memorial.JPG)
Veterans of the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
and the
United States Merchant Marine
United States Merchant Marines are United States civilian mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, an ...
had long argued that there was no memorial commemorating their service anywhere in Washington, D.C. Congress rectified this in the 1920s, and a memorial designed by 1922. However, fund-raising for the memorial took far longer than expected. Ground on Columbia Island for the memorial was broken by
Secretary of the Navy
The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense.
By law, the se ...
Charles Francis Adams,
Secretary of the Treasury
The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
Andrew W. Mellon
Andrew William Mellon (; March 24, 1855 – August 26, 1937), sometimes A. W. Mellon, was an American banker, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector, and politician. From the wealthy Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylv ...
,
Marine Corps
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Ben H. Fuller,
Coast Guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...
Commandant
Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...
Rear Admiral Frederick C. Billard, and Assistant Secretary of Commerce
David Sinton Ingalls
David Sinton Ingalls (January 28, 1899 – April 26, 1985) was the US Navy's only flying ace of World War I, with six credited victories; thus he was the first ace in U. S. Navy history.
Early life
Ingalls was born on January 28, 1899, in Clev ...
on December 2, 1930.
Work on the memorial stopped for nearly three years. The statue itself was finally emplaced in 1934. However, lack of funds meant that instead of a wavy green granite base, the statue stood atop a concrete plinth. In May 1934, the commission overseeing the memorial's construction asked the
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
for a $100,000 grant to complete the granite steps. But no funds were forthcoming. Finally, funding for the memorial's completion began moving through Congress. With congressional support, the Works Progress Administration gave $39,000 to finish memorial in 1939.
This included adding the wavy green granite steps, creating a concrete plaza around the memorial, installing two flagstone walks to lead to the memorial, and landscaping the area.
Lady Bird Johnson Park
During the latter part of the 1960s and the early part of the 1970s, the National Park Service relandscaped Columbia Island extensively as part of a nationwide, urban-beautification campaign sponsored by then–
First Lady
First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...
Lady Bird Johnson
Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson (''née'' Taylor; December 22, 1912 – July 11, 2007) was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 as the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson. She previously served as Second Lady from 1961 to 1963 whe ...
between 1964 and 1968.
More than one million
daffodils
''Narcissus'' is a genus of predominantly spring flowering perennial plant, perennial plants of the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae. Various common names including daffodil,The word "daffodil" is also applied to related genera such as ''Ste ...
and 2,700
dogwood trees were planted on the park between 1965 and 1968. These plants were paid for by the National Park Service, the Society for a More Beautiful National Capital and the 1965 Presidential Inaugural Committee.
Columbia Island was renamed Lady Bird Johnson Park by the
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the ma ...
on November 12, 1968 in honor of her work on the beautification campaign.
After the 1976 dedication of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove within Lady Bird Johnson Park, the National Park Service constructed a footbridge over the Boundary Channel in 1977 to connect a new, 30-car parking lot in the north Pentagon parking area to both. The cost of the footbridge and parking lot was $500,000.
In spring 1987, the National Park Service repaved the South Washington Boulevard bridge to Lady Bird Johnson Park, and began planning to reconstruct the bridge by 1991.
Reconstruction of the Humpback Bridge began in January 2008. The bridge, which had not been renovated since its construction, now carried 75,000 vehicles a day – far more than it was designed for. Improvements included widening the bridge, adding balustrades to separate the sidewalks from the vehicular traffic lanes, and building an underpass through the Lady Bird Johnson Park side landing to allow pedestrians and cyclists to pass through the bridge rather than crossing the parkway. The reconstruction also removed the notorious "hump" in the middle of the bridge. However, the masonry facing of the bridge was retained to protect the historic character of the bridge. The bridge reconstruction was complete in 2011, and the bike/pedestrian underpass opened in November. The underpass connected the Columbia Island Marina and the LBJ Memorial Grove with the Mt. Vernon Trail.
A children's garden was constructed on Lady Bird Johnson Park in spring 2008.
Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove
After President Johnson's death in 1973,
Brooke Astor
Roberta Brooke Astor (née Russell; March 30, 1902 – August 13, 2007) was an American philanthropist, socialite, and writer who was the chairwoman of the Vincent Astor Foundation, established by her third husband, Vincent Astor, son of John ...
and Laurence Vanderbilt began planning a memorial grove in his memory. Johnson loved this park while he was president, and the
national memorial was authorized by
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
on December 28, 1973. A grove with a monolith of Texas granite was installed in 1975, along with walking trails and a grove of hundreds of
white pine
''Pinus'', the pines, is a genus of approximately 111 extant tree and shrub species. The genus is currently split into two subgenera: subgenus ''Pinus'' (hard pines), and subgenus ''Strobus'' (soft pines). Each of the subgenera have been further ...
and
dogwood
''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous trees or shru ...
trees among the grass fields. The memorial was dedicated on April 6, 1976.
["Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove." National Park Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. No date, p. 2.](_blank)
Accessed 2013-05-08.
About the island
![Daffodils in Lady Bird Johnson Memorial Park - 2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Daffodils_in_Lady_Bird_Johnson_Memorial_Park_-_2011.jpg)
The Boundary Channel of the Potomac River separates Lady Bird Johnson Park from the Virginia shoreline, while the main stream of the Potomac surrounds the island on the other three sides. As of 2007, the island consisted of of landscaped parkland. Located within the park are the Lyndon B. Johnson Memorial Grove, the Navy–Merchant Marine Memorial, and the Columbia Island Marina.
Lady Bird Johnson Park is accessible from downtown Washington via the
Arlington Memorial Bridge
The Arlington Memorial Bridge is a Neoclassical masonry, steel, and stone arch bridge with a central bascule (or drawbridge) that crosses the Potomac River at Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. First proposed in 1886, the brid ...
, from
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
via Memorial Drive, and from
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...
via the George Washington Memorial Parkway. The
Mount Vernon Trail
The Mount Vernon Trail (MVT) is a long shared use path that travels along the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Northern Virginia between Rosslyn and George Washington's home at Mount Vernon. The trail connects the easternmost portions of ...
runs along the side of the island facing the rest of the District, leading to
Theodore Roosevelt Island
Theodore Roosevelt Island is an island and national memorial located in the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. During the Civil War, it was used as a training camp for the United States Colored Troops. The island was given to the federal gover ...
in one direction and
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport , sometimes referred to colloquially as National Airport, Washington National, Reagan National Airport, DCA, Reagan, or simply National, is an international airport in Arlington County, Virginia, across ...
on the other.
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...
is visible from the western side of the island near the marina at the southern tip.
In popular culture
Lady Bird Johnson Park is a popular location which authors like to include in their fiction novels, sometimes using the old name Columbia Island. It is mentioned in Anthony S. Policastro's ''Dark End of the Spectrum'', S.R. Larson's ''America Occupied'', Allan Leverone's ''Final Vector'', and Mary Eason's ''Killer Moves''.
Sean Flannery has mentioned the Columbia Island Marina and the Boundary Channel in his novel ''Moving Targets'', as did
Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson (born March 23, 1952) is an American writer of science fiction. He has published twenty-two novels and numerous short stories and is best known for his ''Mars'' trilogy. His work has been translated into 24 languages. Many ...
in his ''Forty Signs of Rain''. Sheri Holman has mentioned the marina and the Pentagon Lagoon in her novel ''The Mammoth Cheese'', and the marina has played a role in Mike Lawson's ''The Second Perimeter'', and in Phil Little and Brad Whittington's ''Hell in a Briefcase.''
[Little, Phil and Whittington, Brad. ''Hell in a Briefcase.'' Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman & Holman, 2006, p. 398.]
References
Bibliography
*Elliott, Paul. ''60 Hikes Within 60 Miles, Washington, D.C.: Including Suburban and Outlying Areas of Maryland and Virginia.'' Birmingham, Ala.: Menasha Ridge Press, 2007.
*Moore, John E. and Jackson, Julia A. ''Geology, Hydrology, and History of the Washington, D.C., Area.'' Alexandria, Va.: American Geological Institute, 1989.
*Office of Conservation, Interpretation, and Use. ''Scientific Report.'' National Capital Region. National Park Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1965.
*Russell, Jan Jarboe. ''Lady Bird: A Biography of Mrs. Johnson.'' Lanham, Md.: Taylor Trade Pub, 1999.
*White, Mel. ''Complete National Parks of the United States.'' Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2009.
External links
Columbia Island Marina*
*
*
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River islands of Washington, D.C.
Islands of the Potomac River
George Washington Memorial Parkway
Arlington Memorial Bridge
Historic American Landscapes Survey in Washington, D.C.
National Park Service areas in Washington, D.C.
Southwest (Washington, D.C.)