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Photo, Print, Drawing Lock Keeper's House, 17th Street & Constitution Avenue Northwest, Washington, District of Columbia, DC National Mall & Memorial Parks Toll Keeper's Lodge

View 5 images in sequence.
[ Photos from Survey HABS DC-36  ]

More Resources

View 6 images in sequence.
[ Drawings from Survey HABS DC-36  ]
[ Data Pages from Survey HABS DC-36  ]
[ Photo Captions from Survey HABS DC-36  ]
[ pdf version of supplemental pages ]

About this Item

Title

  • Lock Keeper's House, 17th Street & Constitution Avenue Northwest, Washington, District of Columbia, DC

Other Title

  • National Mall & Memorial Parks Toll Keeper's Lodge

Names

  • Historic American Buildings Survey, creator
  • Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company
  • Carbery, Thomas
  • Washington Canal Company
  • Young, J.
  • Smithsonian Board of Regents
  • Severson, Benjamin
  • Cluss & Kammerhueber
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
  • U.S. Park Police
  • Owen, Frederick D.
  • Burns, Albert S., photographer
  • Stevens, Christopher M., project manager
  • Pierce, Ryan, field team
  • Christianson, Justine, historian
  • Croteau, Todd A., photographer
  • Davidson, Paul, photographer
  • National Mall and Memorial Parks, sponsor
  • Stevens, Christopher M., transmitter
  • California Polytechnic State University, sponsor
  • Batterson, Ron, faculty sponsor
  • Wynn, Steven D., delineator
  • Kasparek, Kate, transmitter
  • McPartland, Mary, transmitter

Created / Published

  • Documentation compiled after 1933

Headings

  • -  domestic life
  • -  canals
  • -  shipping
  • -  concrete foundations
  • -  gneiss
  • -  sandstone
  • -  locks (hydraulic facilities)
  • -  lockkeepers' houses
  • -  ashlar
  • -  dormers
  • -  tollhouses
  • -  toll collection
  • -  District Of Columbia--District Of Columbia--Washington

Latitude / Longitude

  • 38.89194,-77.039742

Notes

  • -  Photographs #1-2 are part of the Pictorial Archives of Early American Architecture (PAEAA), also found in the Prints & Photographs Division of the Library of Congress.
  • -  1994 Charles E. Peterson Prize, Entry
  • -  Significance: The lockkeeper's house at 17th Street and Constitution Avenue served the lock that connected the Washington branch of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal to the Washington City Canal that crossed the capital city parallel to the national mall. The city canal suffered problems from its inception and ultimately became an open sewer. The C&O Canal entailed enormous national investment but fell victim to labor riots, floods, pestilence, right-of-way disputes, and finally competition of railroads. The result was the filling-in of the Washington branch of the C&O Canal and the Washington city canal, leaving the lock keeper's house removed from its purpose. The house was further isolated from the river with a major landfill and reclamation project at the turn of the twentieth century that created Potomac Park, the site of the Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool. The house served for a time as a squatters' tenement, and later for the U.S. Park Police with a holding cell. After World War II, the house became a comfort station but was later abandoned except for some use as storage for groundskeepers. Few visitors to the park can visualize the historic scene of canal barges passing by the foot of the ellipse and docking at the wharf that once extended to the south of the house, nor the image of the Potomac river extending nearly to the base of the Washington Monument. The lock keeper's house stands as testimony to the is dramatic and eventful past. In 2016-17, the lock keeper's house was moved slightly away from the lanes of traffic and rehabilitated as a visitor center for the National Mall and Memorial Parks.
  • -  Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N153
  • -  Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N2177
  • -  Survey number: HABS DC-36
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1837 Initial Construction
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1903 Subsequent Work
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1915-1916 Subsequent Work
  • -  Building/structure dates: 2004 Subsequent Work
  • -  Building/structure dates: ca. 1940 Subsequent Work
  • -  Building/structure dates: 2016-2017 Subsequent Work
  • -  National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 73000218

Medium

  • Photo(s): 32
  • Measured Drawing(s): 6
  • Data Page(s): 26
  • Photo Caption Page(s): 3

Call Number/Physical Location

  • HABS DC,WASH,12-

Source Collection

  • Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)

Repository

Control Number

  • dc0170

Rights Advisory

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not license or charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material.

Ultimately, it is the researcher's obligation to assess copyright or other use restrictions and obtain permission from third parties when necessary before publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the Library's collections.

For information about reproducing, publishing, and citing material from this collection, as well as access to the original items, see: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscape Survey (HABS/HAER/HALS) Collection - Rights and Restrictions Information

  • Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
  • Reproduction Number: ---
  • Call Number: HABS DC,WASH,12-
  • Access Advisory: ---

Obtaining Copies

If Digital Images Are Displaying

You can download online images yourself. Alternatively, you can purchase copies of various types through Library of Congress Duplication Services.

HABS/HAER/HALS materials have generally been scanned at high resolution that is suitable for most publication purposes (see Digitizing the Collection for further details about the digital images).

  • Photographs--All photographs are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Call Number and Item Number that appear under the photograph in the multiple-image display (e.g., HAER, NY,52-BRIG,4-2).
    • If possible, include a printout of the photograph.
  • Drawings--All drawings are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Survey Number (e.g., HAER NY - 143) and Sheet Number (e.g., "Sheet 1 of 4"), which appear on the edge of the drawing. (NOTE: These numbers are visible in the Tiff "Reference Image" display.)
    • If possible, include a printout of the drawing.
  • Data Pages
    • Make note of the Call Number in the catalog record.

If Digital Images Are Not Displaying

In the rare case that a digital image for HABS/HAER/HALS documentation is not displaying online, select images for reproduction through one of these methods:

  • Visit the Prints & Photographs Reading Room and request to view the group (general information about service in the reading room is available at: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/info/001_ref.html). It is best to contact reference staff in advance (see: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/address.html) to make sure the material is on site. OR
  • P&P reading room staff can provide up to 15 quick copies of items per calendar year (many original items in the holdings are too old or fragile to make such copies, but generally HABS/HAER/HALS materials are in good enough condition to be placed on photocopy machines). For assistance, see our Ask a Librarian page OR
  • Hire a freelance researcher to do further selection for you (a list of researchers in available at: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/resource/013_pic.html).
  • You can purchase copies of various types, including quick copies, through Library of Congress Duplication Services (price lists, contact information, and order forms for Library of Congress Duplication Services are available on the Duplication Services Web site):
    • Make note of the Call Number listed above.
    • Look at the Medium field above. If it lists more than one item:
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      • All the items in a particular medium (e.g., all drawings, all photographs) can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.

Access to Originals

Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.

  1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

    • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.
      As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)
    • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.

  2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

    • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.
    • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.
  3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

To contact Reference staff in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, please use our Ask A Librarian service or call the reading room between 8:30 and 5:00 at 202-707-6394, and Press 3.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, Chesapeake And Ohio Canal Company, Thomas Carbery, Washington Canal Company, J Young, Smithsonian Board Of Regents, Benjamin Severson, et al., Burns, Albert S, Todd A Croteau, and Paul Davidson, photographer. Lock Keeper's House, 17th Street & Constitution Avenue Northwest, Washington, District of Columbia, DC. Washington D.C. Washington, 1933. translateds by Stevens, Christopher M.Mitter, Kasparek, Katemitter, and Mcpartland, Marymitter Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/dc0170/.

APA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, C., Chesapeake And Ohio Canal Company, Carbery, T., Washington Canal Company, Young, J., Smithsonian Board Of Regents [...] Wynn, S. D., Burns, A. S., Croteau, T. A. & Davidson, P., photographer. (1933) Lock Keeper's House, 17th Street & Constitution Avenue Northwest, Washington, District of Columbia, DC. Washington D.C. Washington, 1933. Stevens, C. M. M., Kasparek, K. & McPartland, M., transs Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/dc0170/.

MLA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, et al., photographers by Burns, Albert S, Todd A Croteau, and Paul Davidson. Lock Keeper's House, 17th Street & Constitution Avenue Northwest, Washington, District of Columbia, DC. trans by Stevens, Christopher M.Mitter, Kasparek, Katemitter, and Mcpartland, Marymitter Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/dc0170/>.