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Tidal Basin (Washington, D.C.)
Tidal Basin on April 13, 2013, showing the Washington Monument undergoing renovation and paddle boat docks.
Tidal Basin (Washington, D.C.)
Location	Washington, D.C.
Coordinates	38°53′03″N 77°02′21″W / 38.88417°N 77.03917°W / 38.88417; -77.03917 (Tidal Basin (District of Columbia))
Type	Artificial
Primary inflows	Potomac River 38°52′49″N 77°02′25″W / 38.88028°N 77.04028°W / 38.88028; -77.04028 (Tidal Basin (District of Columbia) Inlet Gate)
Primary outflows	Washington Channel 38°52′58″N 77°01′59″W / 38.88278°N 77.03306°W / 38.88278; -77.03306 (Tidal Basin (District of Columbia) Outlet Gate)
Basin countries	United States
Surface area	107 acres (0.43 km)
Average depth	10 feet (3.0 m)
Surface elevation	3 feet (0.91 m)
References	"Tidal Basin". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.

The Tidal Basin is a man-made reservoir located between the Potomac River and the Washington Channel in Washington, D.C. It is part of West Potomac Park, is near the National Mall and is a focal point of the National Cherry Blossom Festival held each spring. The Jefferson Memorial, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, and the George Mason Memorial are situated adjacent to the Tidal Basin. The basin covers an area of about 107 acres (43 ha) and is 10 feet (3.0 m) deep.

History

The concept of the Tidal Basin originated in the 1870s to serve both as a visual centerpiece and as a means for flushing the Washington Channel, a harbor separated from the Potomac River by fill lands where East Potomac Park is situated. Colonel Peter Conover Hains of the United States Army Corps of Engineers oversaw the Basin's design and construction.

The Basin was initially named the Tidal Reservoir. It later received the name of Twining Lake to honor Major William Johnson Twining of the Corps of Engineers, who served on the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia as its Engineer Commissioner during 1879.

In the Commissioners' annual report to Congress for that year, Major Twining proposed to create the tidal reservoir and use its water to help "flush" the Washington Channel. A 1917 map of Washington that the U.S. Public Buildings Commission prepared shows the basin with the name "Twining Lake".

In August 1918 the whites-only Congressionally-funded Tidal Basin Bathing Beach was opened in front of the site of the present-day Jefferson Memorial. The beach was popular, and by one estimate attracted up to 20,000 people on a July day in 1920. Congress had planned to open a separate beach for African-Americans nearby, but the plan was blocked by southern senators. Rather than integrate the beach, Congress ordered the dismantling of the beach in 1925.

Sea level rise and land subsidence has caused portions of the paths next to the water to flood twice daily at high tide. A redesign of the Tidal Basin was therefore under consideration during 2020.

Design

The basin is designed to release 250 million US gallons (950,000 m) of water captured at high tide twice a day. The inlet gates, located on the Potomac side of the basin, allow water to enter the basin during high tide. During this time, the outlet gates, on the Washington Channel side, close to store incoming water and block the flow of water and sediment into the channel.

As the tide begins to ebb, the general outflow of water from the basin forces the inlet gates to close. This same force is applied to the outlet gates, which open into the channel. Silt build up is swept away by the extra force of water running from the Tidal Basin through the channel. The U.S. Corps of Engineers, which maintains the Basin's gates, has restored their functioning.

The Kutz Memorial Bridge crosses the northern lobe of the basin, carrying eastbound Independence Avenue traffic in three lanes. The bridge's name commemorates Brigadier General Charles Willauer Kutz, a Commissioner of Engineering for the District of Columbia during the first half of the 20th century.

Paul Cret designed the bridge, which the engineering firm of Alexander and Repass constructed. Construction began in 1941, reached completion in 1943 and was dedicated after alterations in 1954. The bridge is made of concrete and steel on pilings with granite facing. It is 433 ft (132 m) long and 46 ft (14 m) wide.

As part of the restoration and redesign of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, completed in 2012, water is pumped from the Tidal Basin to fill the pool.

Recreation

From mid-March until October, paddle-boats are available for rent. The activity is very popular during the Cherry Blossom Festival, which takes place in April.

Incidents

The Tidal Basin was the scene of an incident involving the Chairman of the United States House Committee on Ways and Means, Democratic Congressman Wilbur Mills. At 2:00 a.m. on October 7, 1974, Park police stopped Mills' speeding car, whose driver, Albert G. Gapacini, had not turned on its headlights. Also in the car was an Argentine stripper known as Fanne Foxe. After the police stopped the car, Foxe jumped into the nearby Tidal Basin and was rescued. Police stated that both Mills and Foxe were intoxicated and that Mills was bleeding from his nose and scratches on his face.

Images

• Jefferson Memorial as seen from across the Tidal Basin (July 2001)
• Inlet gate
  (November 2011)
• Inlet bridge (southeastern end) (November 2011)
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
  (April 20, 2008)
• The Tidal Basin with cherry blossoms (April 1999)
• Orphans playing in the Tidal Basin circa 1924

See also

• West Potomac Park
• List of lakes in the Washington, D.C. area

Notes

1. Blair, Elizabeth (October 31, 2020). "Landscape Architects Unveil Plans To Save The National Mall's Tidal Basin". NPR News. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
2. Chapel, p. 32.
3. Chapel, p. 42.
4. Chapel, pp. 26, 109.
5. Chapel, pp. 26–27.
6. Public Buildings Commission (1918). "Washington, the Mall and Vicinity: Buildings Occupied By Various Government Activities: 1917" (map). Washington, D.C.: United States Senate. LCCN 88690910. Retrieved February 17, 2021 – via Library of Congress. (Repository: Library of Congress Geography and Map Division)
7. Knapp, Jackson (26 August 2018). "Once Upon a Time, the Tidal Basin Was a Swimming Beach". Washingtonian. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
8. Kennedy, Sarah (2020-02-17). "Climate change is coming for the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C." Yale Climate Connections. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
9. ^ "Tidal Basin, Washington, DC". National Mall and Memorial Parks. Department of the Interior: National Park Service. July 5, 2018. Archived from the original on December 13, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
10. ^ (1) Park Historic Structures Program, National Park Service. "Kutz Memorial Bridge - Res. 332". List of Classified Structures. National Park Service. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
    (2) "District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites" (PDF). District of Columbia Office of Planning - Historic Preservation Office. September 30, 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 5, 2014. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
    (3) Bobeczko, Laura L.; Robinson, Judith H., Architectural Historians, Robinson & Associates, Inc. (July 31, 1998). "Kutz Bridge" (PDF). East and West Potomac Park Historic District: Revised National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (July 16, 1999): Continuation Sheet 7.26. United States Department of the Interior: National Park Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 25, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
11. Anderson, John C. (March 6, 2010). "Memorial page for BG Charles Willauer Kutz (1870-1951)". Find a Grave. Archived from the original on September 16, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
12. Ruane, Michael E. (August 6, 2012). "Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool nearly ready after $34 million reconstruction". Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 10, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
13. "Tidal Basin". Boating In DC. Guest Services, Inc. 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2021. Archived February 14, 2021, at the Wayback Machine.
14. Green, Stephen (1974-10-11). "Mills Admits Being Present During Tidal Basin Scuffle". Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-04-05.

References

• Chapel, Gordon (June 1973). "Historic Resource Study: East and West Potomac Parks: A History". Denver, Colorado: United States Department of the Interior: National Park Service: Historic Preservation Team: Denver Service Center. Retrieved February 27, 2021.

External links

Download coordinates as:

• KML
• GPX (all coordinates)
• GPX (primary coordinates)
• GPX (secondary coordinates)

• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. DC-9, "Tidal Reservoir"
• HAER No. DC-9-A, "Tidal Reservoir, Inlet Bridge"
• HAER No. DC-9-B, "Tidal Reservoir, Outlet"
• Paddle Boating on the Tidal Basin
• KUTZ, Charles W: Plaque on Kutz Bridge at the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C.

Template:NPS.Gov

• Chesapeake Bay watershed
• Historic American Engineering Record in Washington, D.C.
• Landmarks in Washington, D.C.
• Potomac River watershed
• Reservoirs in Washington, D.C.
• Southwest (Washington, D.C.)