As you head south one the water from the Whitney Young Bridge, you will soon find yourself confronted by this large concrete structure, one that has clearly not been in use for many years. It is part of a lock system devised over 100 years ago to turn this section of the Anacostia River into a lake. (RSP)
It is obviously not in the greatest of shapes today, but was once designed and constructed with an eye to beauty, as these natural-stone entrances to the sluice attest. (RSP)
The idea was to use the locks to keep the lake, that would extend the length of Kingman Island and be bounded on the west by the western shore of the Anacostia, at a constant level, so that it could be used for swimming (RSP)
While the original plan was from 1918, it took some time to take shape. (RSP)
Today, the seawall that used to ring Kingman Lake has almost entirely been subsumed by the natural riverbank, but the lock abides. (RSP)
This image, from the January 21, 1940, Washington Evening Star shows how the lake was supposed to be the backdrop for an enormous amphitheatre that was to be at the terminus of East Capitol Street, which in turn would be flanked left and right by the armory and a stadium (the corner of which can be seen on the left hand edge of the picture. (RSP)
