27 Jan 2014

Lost Capitol Hill: The Street Car Tunnel

tnA friend recently mentioned that he used to take the DC street cars through a tunnel on Capitol Hill. As this touched on two of my favorite topics — street cars and tunnels– I immediately began researching. Sadly, it is not a terribly long story, nor was it a very long tunnel, but it was interesting– to me, at least. (Ed. note– Your stories are always interesting, Robert!/MHC)

The Capitol had always been a major hub for the DC streetcars, with three different lines coming within a block of it. As early as 1880, tracks circled the building: The Capitol line came down 1st NW and turned onto Maryland SW; the Washington and Georgetown line came down Pennsylvania Avenue NW, then split at 1st Street NW, with one branch going north following 1st Streets East and West; as well as B Streets North and South. (That would be Constitution and Independence Avenues today.) This worked well until the early 1930s, when the space between the Capitol and Union Station was turned into a park. The area between New Jersey Avenue NW and Delaware Avenue NE was to be cleared.

The decision was made to change the routing of the street cars near the Capitol. Instead of turning sharply to the right from C Street into Delaware Avenue, and then right again on B Street North, the cars would now go straight along C street all the way to 1st Street, and only there turn. This shortened the distance that the streetcars were inside (or alongside) the new park. In order to enhance the sight lines to the Capitol along North Capitol, a short subway was designed, in which the street cars would go underground. While only 215 feet long, this tunnel was, as the Washington Evening Star pointed out, “the city’s first taste of underground transportation.”

The first step was the removal of the World War I-era temporary houses to the east of North Capitol, as well as those to the west. Other than that, the grounds were already owned by the government and had been cleared previously.

The east entrance to the tunnel today. On the left, the entrance to the underground parking lot, on the right, the exit of the tunnel. No signs of the street cars remain (RSP)

The east entrance to the tunnel today. On the left, the entrance to the underground parking lot, on the right, the exit of the tunnel. No signs of the street cars remain (RSP)

In order to lengthen the time that the streetcars were hidden, shrubbery was planned along C Street. On top of it was built a water fountain. At the same time, a large underground garage was being built for use by the Senate, and a reflecting pool was built between it and Union Station.

This was hardly all the work being done on Capitol Hill that year. While the biggest project underway was the work on the Supreme Court, they were also building the Library of Congress Annex (aka Adams Building) the Longworth House Office Building, and the Botanic Gardens at the foot of Capitol Hill. Furthermore, smaller tunnels were being built to carry hot water from the heating plant near Garfield Park to the Capitol and all the other buildings already built and under construction on Capitol Hill.

For the next 30 years, streetcars rumbled through this brief tunnel. Other underground areas were built, at Dupont Circle and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. As opposed to those, however, the C Street Tunnel survived the end of the streetcar era in 1962, and was used until 2001 for car traffic; however, post-9/11 fears led to its closure, as well.

 


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