District Wharf and Engine Building - Washington DC

State:: WASHINGTON-DC
Site Type:: Infrastructure and Utilities, Maritime: Harbors, Ports & Lighthouses
New Deal Agencies:: Public Works Administration (PWA), Public Works Funding, Work Relief Programs, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
Quality of Information:: Moderate
Marked:: No
Site Survival:: Extant

Description

The district wharf on the Potomac River near Maine Avenue on the southwest waterfront, as well as the original “engine building” (white structure ), was built under the New Deal. The wharf is the site of the rebuilt Maine Avenue Fish Market.

Apparently, the funding came from the Public Works Administration (PWA). Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees participated the construction – and it seems likely the Works Progress Administration (WPA) was also involved, given the nearby work by the WPA along the southwestern waterfront.

The brief history on the DC wharf’s website calls it the “30s Renaissance”:

“During the 1930s, the Southwest Waterfront underwent a renaissance, as plans to beautify the harbor were realized. The waterfront would continue its successful cargo business, supported by the municipal fish market and farmer’s market. As part of this movement to ‘give the city back its waterfront,’ Water Street’s name was changed to Maine Avenue in 1938 and plans were developed to transform it into a 160-foot boulevard.”