The Poole & Hunt Foundry and Machine Works

The Poole and Hunt Foundry and Machine Works was established here and manufactured some of the most impressive machinery of the period. A year into establishing the site, the company was manufacturing the east iron columns for the peristyle of the U.S. Capitol Building dome. , Poole and Hunt manufactured a multitude of machines including turbines and boilers that powered mills, along with screw-pile lighthouses, railroad machinery, and transmission equipment for cable cars. During World War I, the company was commissioned to manufacture naval artillery mountings and established an ammunition works in Texas, Maryland. , In 1934, hard hit by the Depression, the company sold much of its campus to the Franklin Balmar Corporation. By the 1970s, a kitchen cabinet manufacturer used the site, and by the 1990s a rock climbing gym had taken over the massive erecting shop, and artists had established a community in the machine shop and foundry. A devastating fire in 1995 destroyed much of the campus. The next decade, the site was repurposed by developers Struever Bros. Eccles and Rouse. Designed by architects Cho Benn Holback+Associates, the site transformed into Clipper Mill, a complex of residences, offices, shops, a restaurant, and studios.