The historic, stone Lockkeeper’s House, at Constitution Ave and 17th St NW, is back in business after a major restoration, and worth a visit. The grounds and plaza are well laid out, and the building has reclaimed its former glory, with exhibits inside and out to explain the history of this unique structure. (I’ll post a photo shortly.)
The oldest building on the National Mall, the Lockkeeper’s House was successfully moved about fifty feet last fall. The ambitious move took nearly a year just to get everything set up, then a breathless half-hour to actually wheel it a few yards.
It might seem a little odd to spend the big bucks to move it such a short distance, but its former location (now outlined on the sidewalk) was very close to the curb. The building sorely needed a restoration. The site also offered a unique opportunity to tell the story of the C&O and Washington canal system that once provided a primary means of transporting goods both within the city and beyond the city.
It’s hard to imagine, but the Lockkeeper’s House, dating to the 1830s, also stood at the edge of the Potomac River back then. The west end of the National Mall, more or less from Washington Monument to Lincoln Memorial, is mostly fill material from dredging the river in the 1880s.
So the setting offers a unique view into D.C.’s past and an attractive entry to the Mall from downtown D.C. As someone who, admittedly, was a little skeptical of moving the fragile, old building, I have to offer kudos to those who imagined and engineered the whole affair. Nicely done.