# What is this block in Washington, DC? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 20, 2006, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-block-in-washington-dc/373485 "2006-09-20T22:37:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-block-in-washington-dc/373485/1 "2006-09-20T22:37:48Z")
I was driving around this afternoon and I found this: [Map](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=N+Capitol+St+NE+%26+Michigan+Ave+NE,+Washington,+DC+20017&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=17&ll=38.924361,-77.01019&spn=0.006035,0.015986&t=h) It’s between Michigan Ave NW & Channing St. NW and N. Capitol St. NW & 1st St. NW. There are two rows of odd-looking buildings (some of them look like silos) and the rest of the block is mown grass. Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-block-in-washington-dc/373485/2 "2006-09-20T22:56:03Z")
[McMillan Reservoir Sand Filtratration Plant](http://www.planning.dc.gov/planning/cwp/view,a,1285,q,571630.asp). ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-block-in-washington-dc/373485/3 "2006-09-20T23:10:28Z")
Well, the property is that of the D.C. Water system and the Microsoft Terraserver Topo map shows it as a filtration plant. On the other hand, the towers look, to me, to be either ancient kilns or ancient foundry furnaces. In addition, the small "V"s of land extending away from the concrete or stone paths on which the towers are standing are actually the entrances to subterranean storage of some sort\*, much in the way that military magazines are laid out. I am wondering if that is the site of an old armory that has been only partially demolished. (I don’t recall whether there is a kiln process involved in making gunpowder.) - I noted that Howard University is just South of there on the Terraserver map, entered “howard university washington dc 20017” into the search box at [http://local.live.com/](http://local.live.com/), selected aerial image, scrolled the map to find the towers, then switched to “Bird’s eye” to see the land better. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-block-in-washington-dc/373485/4 "2006-09-20T23:15:00Z")
(I suppose the towers might have something to do with the filtration plant, but settling pools are wide and shallow, not narrow and deep (tall).) ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-block-in-washington-dc/373485/5 "2006-09-20T23:16:07Z")
That’ll teach me to post without previewing. Sand storage towers? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-block-in-washington-dc/373485/6 "2006-09-20T23:23:57Z")
It’s pretty old, I think. I’ve driven by it many times; I knew it was a water something-or-other. ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-block-in-washington-dc/373485/7 "2006-09-20T23:45:17Z")
The Post has done a few Articles on it. [Good one](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/21/AR2006042101819.html?referrer=emailarticle) (free reg required) in the early part of the 20th Century people slept out there in the summer. Yes, the water was “purified” by sand and that is what the silos are. They want to develop the property but apprently there are , essentially, cement bunkers running for acres and acres making very expensive to develop – only now are the land/devlopment prices approaching amking that an economic possibility. [Link](http://www.dcpreservation.org/endangered/2005/mcmillan.html) to one plan ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-block-in-washington-dc/373485/8 "2006-09-21T09:26:43Z")
They are also very close to my house, I pass them when I go to Home Depot. They have had several plans for the property, our local fears are that a) they’ll go with some huge office complex, traffic causing nightmare; or b) some kind of big box Mcdevelopment that the current administration seems to love. With this site, Walter Reed Hospital site, and the Soldier’s home plans, that corner of DC has the potential for some huge changes on the horizon. If they aren’t going to do it right and with planning, I’d rather keep the old silos. ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-block-in-washington-dc/373485/9 "2006-09-21T13:28:43Z")
I’d heard about the plans for the McMillan Reservoir, but whats going on with the Walter Reed site and the Solidier’s home? I have some acquaintances in the Petworth area just off of N. Capitol and one of the things that they complain about is the lack of grocery store options and commerce in the area. I would hope that plans for those sites include some sort of commercial option for the residents to buy groceries. - I know that there is a bit of commerce on Georgia Avenue, but it would be nice to have some options on N. Capitol Street. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-block-in-washington-dc/373485/10 "2006-09-21T15:08:37Z")
[QUOTE=Caffeine.addict] I would hope that plans for those sites include some sort of commercial option for the residents to buy groceries. [/QUOTE] One of the Williams Administration’s great unachieved goals was to increae grocery options for District residents, but apparently it’s just really tough. None of the supermarkets want to go in there. There’ve been a handful of deals throughout the city that fell through. We’ll see if Fenty can do better. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-block-in-washington-dc/373485/11 "2006-09-21T15:28:31Z")
[QUOTE=Cliffy] One of the Williams Administration’s great unachieved goals was to increae grocery options for District residents, but apparently it’s just really tough. None of the supermarkets want to go in there. There’ve been a handful of deals throughout the city that fell through. We’ll see if Fenty can do better. –Cliffy [/QUOTE] Its kind of funny how the District doesn’t have a lot of commercial options for many residents. A lot of people are stuck buying their groceries at the corner store which tends to have a pretty good markup on things. It seems that the worse off the neighborhood, the less likely they are to have a supermarket.