Castle Gatehouse, Washington Aqueduct is a

pumping station Pumping stations, also called pumphouses, are public utility buildings containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are critical in a variety of infrastructure systems, such as water supply, Land reclamation, ...

at the

Georgetown Reservoir The Georgetown Reservoir is a reservoir that provides water to the District of Columbia. Part of the city’s water supply and treatment infrastructure, it is located in the Palisades neighborhood, about two miles downstream from the Maryland� ...

on the

Washington Aqueduct The Washington Aqueduct is an Aqueduct (water supply), aqueduct that provides the public water supply system serving Washington, D.C., and parts of its suburbs, using water from the Potomac River. One of the first major aqueduct projects in the ...

in The Palisades neighborhood of

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The building is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

and contributes to the Washington Aqueduct

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

History

In 1852 the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

authorized the Army Corps of Engineers to construct a water supply for the city of Washington, using the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

at Great Falls as its source. Construction of a 12-mile pipeline began in 1853, and portions of the system began operation in 1859. Little Falls Branch was used as an interim source until the pipeline was completed in 1864. The water was routed to

Dalecarlia Reservoir Dalecarlia Reservoir is the primary storage basin for drinking water in Washington, D.C., and Arlington County, Virginia. The reservoir (water), reservoir is fed by an underground Aqueduct (water supply), aqueduct in turn fed by low dams which div ...

, followed by

. Improvements to the water system in the late 19th century included the Castle Gatehouse. The gatehouse was constructed at the Georgetown Reservoir to pump water into the four-mile long Washington City Tunnel that led to

McMillan Reservoir The McMillan Reservoir is a reservoir in Washington, D.C., that supplies most of the city's municipal water. It was originally called the Howard University Reservoir or the Washington City Reservoir, and was completed in 1902 by the U.S. Army Co ...

, completed in 1902. A filtration system was constructed at McMillan in 1905 and this system improved the quality of city water. Construction of the gatehouse began in 1899. The design was intended to replicate the Corps of Engineers insignia.

Portland cement Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world as a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar (masonry), mortar, stucco, and non-specialty grout. It was developed from other types of hydraulic lime in England in th ...

plaster was used to replicate stonework and give the gatehouse an authentic castle appearance. The gatehouse is managed by the Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District. The building was added to the

on March 13, 1975.

References

{{commons category, Castle Gatehouse, Washington Aqueduct Infrastructure completed in 1901 Buildings of the United States government in Washington, D.C. Gatehouses (waterworks) Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Romanesque Revival architecture in Washington, D.C. Water supply infrastructure on the National Register of Historic Places Gothic Revival architecture in Washington, D.C. Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Washington, D.C. The Palisades (Washington, D.C.)

History

See also

References