Mystery Solved: McMillan Reservoir
June 8th, 2009 · 6 Comments · Posted in Blog
Taking the tour of McMillan Reservoir
For years to head out of the District of Columbia we’ve taken Michigan Avenue and passed the strangest landscape of what look like giant concrete chimneys rising out of the ground and acres of grassland pocked with hundreds of huge manhole covers.
What could it possibly be?
On Saturday, we finally found out when would-be developers of the site–the largest undeveloped tract of land left in the city, 25 acres–took neighbors on a tour of McMillan Reservoir.
Those giant chimneys, we learned, were actually silos that used to store sand. And the manholes marked underground caverns or “cells” filled with sand where the city’s water supply once was filtered.
Considered a marvel of engineering in its day, this area in addition to being a water filtration plant was also a public park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the same man who designed Central Park in New York City and the landscaping around the U.S. Capitol. Originally a spring provided water here, but the city fathers decided that the Potomac River should become the District’s primary water source. A tunnel was built to carry water to the sand pits.
Completed in 1902 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the plant was named for Senator James McMillan of Michigan, who chaired the Senate’s Committee on the District of Columbia at the time and supported development of the city’s water works.
Descending into a sand cell
This part of the original water plant has been unused for years, replaced by a more modern plant across the street. The question arose: what to do with it? The city requested bids for development of the site and selected EYA , a company that has been involved in numerous residential projects in the area. A design is still in the making, but there’s talk of office buildings to serve a nearby cluster of hospitals as well as mixed housing and retail–a self-contained neighborhood that puts housing in close proximity to where people work.
Or so the developer says. A committee of neighborhood residents and local politicians is advising on the design and it appears that not everyone is happy with the direction the project is taking.
Peering into history
Besides the sand silos and sand cells, there are also several brick structures on the property that look almost like small, turn-of-the-century houses. These are the regulator buildings, housing valves that regulated the flow of water into and out of the reservoir. The manholes are where sand was poured to replenish the cells. Quite a lot of labor was involved compared to the mechanized way we treat water today.
Looking at this vast spread of greenery in the middle of the city, I couldn’t help thinking it would make a great farm. Imagine cows grazing here, or maybe goats and sheep. The city could have its own cheese factory, and milk for the local schools. Does all open space need to be developed?
The tour made a nice morning walk for daughter and me, after which he headed to the local Five Guys burger joint for lunch. I don’t do the burgers or fries, but I do appreciate the free peanuts.
Ed, I dig your blog and your philosophy. Really agree with everything. Do you belong to Slow Food?
Best
Sarah
Years ago I suggested to the owners of what is now “Pentagon Row” in Arlington/Crystal City that they turned the then-vacant land into community gardens/victory gardens for all the apartment dwellers around.
Did not work.
Maybe your community can get some of the land set aside for an urban farm/community garden, in exchange for somewhat greater density on the remaining land so the developers does not loose to much development potential. It’ll be more dense in some area and open in others. That might be a win-win solution.
Best wishes.
I’ve been dying to see this place! How does one arrange a tour of it?
Sarah, glad to hear from you. I belonged to Slow Food at one point some years ago. Then I realized I was just paying dues for a magazine I didn’t read. I do support the aims of Slow Food–preseving artisanal production–but I’m not big on events around food. I’d rather cook out of my garden.
Sylvie, I’m not sure community gardens or a farm are in the cards for the McMillan Reservoir site. Wish they were. I’ve mentioned it to a friend who sits on the advisory committee. It’s the kind of thing our D.C. Urban Gardeners could have lobbied for if we had ever gotten really organized.
Bruce, there were two tours announced to the surrounding communities last week. You might want to contact EYA to see if any future tours are planned.
I hear you, Ed, but if a group of residents were to ask for it through their neighborhood association, and were willing that the remaining site have a greater density, it might work. With a greater density on the remaining site, the average density does not significantly change compared to what they have initially, so the developer does not loose any density i.e. does loose not sale; additionally, going up can be cheaper, up to a limit, from a site preparation prospective. You never know until you ask. Food gardening is quite the buzz word, and it would also make for good PR for EYA. Seems to be they ought to be only at the preliminary stages at this point, and there’ll be plenty of room to negotiate .
I was in commercial real estate in DC in my former life…
Sylvie, thanks for the insiders perspective and suggestion. I’d thought of writing one of the people on the city council who is focused on green issues. I’m going to pass this on to one of my fellow Urban Gardeners who is on the advisory committee. Thanks for being persistent. It’s definitely a cause worth fighting for.