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“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Southwest Waterfront in Southwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Linking the "Island" to the City

River Farms to Urban Towers

— Southwest Heritage Trail —

 
 
Linking the "Island" to the City Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Craig Swain, April 10, 2010
1. Linking the "Island" to the City Marker
Inscription.
A massive, Romanesque style Metropolitan Street Railway car barn once commanded the corner behind you across O Street, with repair shops across Fourth Street. They dated from the 1880s, and were part of Washington's first street railway system. Streetcars were a lifeline for this neighborhood, long known as "the island" because it was cut off from the rest of Washington by creeks, a canal, the Mall, and eventually railroads and freeways. "We had our own community here," recalled Southwester Clarence "Chick" Jackson, "but we could also go anywhere off the island on the streetcar. It was our ... connection to the city."

In the early 1800s, Washingtonians walked or rode in carriages and wagons or astride horses. Later they traveled in horse-drawn wagons known as public omnibuses. By the Civil War, however, the city was booming, overwhelmed with soldiers, civilians, and supplies that needed to be moved around. In 1862 Congress chartered the first street railway - rail cars pulled by horses on steel tracks. Given the strategic importance of Southwest's wharves, one of the first three lines ran from Boundary Street (now Florida Avenue, NW) to Seventh Street, then back.

The electric trolleys of the late 1880s came next, but they were replaced with buses in 1962. That year most car barns became unnecessary. O. Roy Chalk,
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who owned D.C. Transit (which became Metrobus in 1973), tore down his car barns to build the apartment houses Riverside Condominium and Channel Square.
 
Erected by Cultural Tourism DC. (Marker Number 15.)
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Railroads & Streetcars. In addition, it is included in the Southwest Heritage Trail series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1862.
 
Location. 38° 52.384′ N, 77° 1.046′ W. Marker is in Southwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It is in Southwest Waterfront. Marker is at the intersection of 4th Street Southwest and O Street Southwest, on the right when traveling north on 4th Street Southwest. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 395 O Street Southwest, Washington DC 20024, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Harbour Square (within shouting distance of this marker); Wheat Row (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Military Education at Fort McNair (about 400 feet away); Lewis House (about 600 feet away); Barney House (about 600 feet away); Blending Old and New (about 600 feet away); Housing Reform and the Syphax School (about 700 feet away); Titanic Memorial (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Southwest Washington.
 
More about this
Back of Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Craig Swain, April 10, 2010
2. Back of Marker
marker.

(Photo Captions from upper right to lower left):
Cars of the Metropolitan Street Railway spent the night at this Romanesque style car barn that once stood behind your right.

On a quiet Sunday in 1951, tidy townhouses stretched ahead of you on a tree-lined Fourth Street.

When this photo was taken on Maryland Avenue in 1890, horse-drawn streetcars were rapidly disappearing. This 1880 map shows the city's horse-drawn street railways, including the line that ran through Southwest on Seventh and Fourth Streets passing this spot.

D.C. Transit streetcars parked next to the car barn, 1961.

The Downtowner minibus cars ran from F Street, NW to Southwest's Waterside Mall, 1976.

The Chalk House apartments (now Riverside Condominium) are near completion in the foreground of this 1965 view.
 
Linking the "Island" to the City Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Craig Swain, April 10, 2010
3. Linking the "Island" to the City Marker
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 3, 2010, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. This page has been viewed 941 times since then and 13 times this year. Last updated on March 8, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on July 3, 2010, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 19, 2024