Columbia Island (Washington, D.C.)

Columbia Island, officially also known as the Lady Bird Johnson Park since 1968, is an island located in the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It formed naturally as an extension of Analostan Island in the latter part of the 1800s, and over time, erosion and flooding severed it from the Analostan island, now known as Theodore Roosevelt Island.

The U.S. federal government deposited material dredged from the Potomac River on the island between 1911 and 1922, and again from 1925 to 1927. The island was also reshaped by the government at this time "to serve as the western terminus of Arlington Memorial Bridge and a symbolic entrance into the nation’s capital." Located within the park are the Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove, Navy – Merchant Marine Memorial, and the Columbia Island Marina. The island, park, memorials, and marina are part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway and administered by the National Park Service.

History Early formation of Columbia Island

Columbia Island is in part natural, and in part man-made. Columbia Island did not exist in 1818 and at that time, Analostan Island (now known as Theodore Roosevelt Island) was largely a rock and quite close to the Washington D.C. shoreline. Due to deforestation and increased agricultural use upstream, the river eroded much of the northern bank and widened the gap between Analostan Island and the shore and simultaneously large deposits of silt built up around Analostan Island. By 1838, Analostan had almost doubled in length toward the south and by 1884, the new southern part of Analostan Island was defined and built up, and supported a well-established wetland. However, the river gradually eroded the center of Analostan Island, severing Columbia Island from its parent body.Office of Conservation, Interpretation, and Use, pp. 48–49; Moore and Jackson, p. 91.

Between 1911 and 1922, the Potomac River was repeatedly dredged to deepen the channel and to widen the distance between Analostan/Theodore Roosevelt Island and Columbia Island (so that the "Virginia Channel" west of Analostan/Roosevelt Island would not flood easily). Dredged material was piled high on Columbia Island, helping to build it higher, lengthen and broaden it, and give it its current shape. Filling in of the island was complete in the spring of 1924."Will Complete River Isle Filling in Spring." Washington Post. November 25, 1923.

The new island received its name in about 1918 from an unnamed engineer working for the District of ColumbiaSecrest, Meryle. "Park Named for Mrs. Johnson." Washington Post. November 13, 1968. and the first use of this name in The Washington Post was in April 1922,"Bathing Beach Selected." Washington Post. April 8, 1922. the same year it was transferred to the National Park Service.

Development

Arlington Memorial Bridge and the expansion of Columbia Island

In 1922, the United States Congress authorized the Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission (AMBC) to hold a design competition for the proposed Arlington Memorial Bridge. It awarded the design commission to the firm of McKim, Mead and White, which appointed architect William Mitchell Kendall to be the lead designer. Congress subsequently authorized construction of Kendall's bridge on February 24, 1925. The legislation authorizing construction of the bridge also provided for the construction of approaches (on-ramps, off-ramps, and pedestrian areas) on both the D.C. and Virginia ends of the bridge; for the improvement of B Street NW as a new ceremonial avenue to link to the bridge; and for the construction of a roadway (eventually called Memorial Drive) between the bridge and the main gate of Arlington National Cemetery as well as a new ceremonial entrance at this gate (subsequently known as the Hemicycle).

Preliminary designs for the bridge showed it terminating on Columbia Island,"Island to Be Remade in New Bridge Plans." Washington Post. April 15, 1925. which necessitated expansion of Columbia Island. The United States Army Corps of Engineers already planned to dredge the Potomac River and enlarge Columbia Island, so on April 1, Secretary of War John W. Weeks ordered the expenditure of $114,500 to dredge the river between the Highway Bridge and the Lincoln memorial. The dredged material was to be dumped on Columbia Island."Potomac Channel to Be Dredged for Flood Prevention." Washington Post. April 2, 1925. To ensure the island could support the bridge, the Corps also planned to construct a levee around the island.

The Corps reached an agreement with the AMBC in April 1925 to jointly share the cost of dredging,"Channel Dredging Jointly Planned." Washington Post. April 22, 1925. which involved the removal of of river bottom, and the construction of of seawall and of levee."Bridge Construction Preliminaries Shown." Washington Post. May 8, 1925. About of Columbia Island was to be removed in order to widen the main Potomac River channel, and the height of the island raised from above average water level to over two years."Army Begins Operation Upon Columbia Island." Washington Post. September 3, 1925.

Early designs for Columbia Island In addition to the ABMC and Corps of Engineers, the United States Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) and the National Capital Parks Commission (NCPC) both had authority to approve aspects of the bridge. The CFA had extensive authority to review the look of the bridge.

The CFA and NCPC first discussed the bridge approaches in January 1926, when they met jointly to discuss how the Virginia terminus would serve as a gateway to Washington."Commissions Plan Gateway in Virginia as City Entrance." Washington Post. January 8, 1926. The two bodies agreed to a proposal by urban planner C.A.S. Sinclair, who proposed a series of roads radiating outward from the Virginia end of the bridge."Bridge Approaches Around Arlington Cemetery Urged." Washington Post. January 15, 1926. However, in December 1926, the CFA learned that Arlington National Cemetery was likely to expand eastward onto the property of the USDA Experimental Farm (which lay east of Arlington Ridge Road). Because this significantly impacted the approaches to the bridge, the CFA asked Kendall to restudy Sinclair's proposal for the Columbia Island terminus."Grant Is Told Need of Bridge Restudy By Fine Arts Group." Washington Post. December 28, 1926."New Study Ordered of Memorial Bridge." Washington Post. December 29, 1926. Kendall presented the revised design for the street and highway approaches for the Virginia landing in May 1927.Kohler, p. 18. His plan was for a series of traffic circles on Columbia Island.

By June 30, 1927, dredging of the Potomac River was nearly complete. The reshaping of Columbia Island was finished, and the island had risen to feet above water.Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital, 1927, p. 20."Park Board Seeks to Beautify Land Between Bridges." Washington Post. July 19, 1927. The following month, work began on the engineering and architectural drawings for the Boundary Channel Bridge. This bridge would cross Boundary Channel (which separated Columbia Island from Virginia) to connect Arlington Memorial Bridge with the planned Memorial Drive.Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital, 1928, p. 51.

Kendall's May 1927 design for Columbia Island generated lengthy debate for two years. Architect Milton Bennett Medary (who left the CFA in 1927) wrote to the Commission of Fine Arts in January 1928 after having seen Kendall's proposal. Medary argued that the National Mall ended with the Lincoln Memorial and the two great roads leading from it – the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway (RCPP) and the Arlington Memorial Bridge. Columbia Island, he said, should reflect a simple, formal dignity that helps ease the transition from the Neoclassical mall and bridge to the informal landscaping of Arlington National Cemetery.Kohler, p. 24. Medary's argument proved persuasive to the CFA, and in late May the commission and Kendall announced a revised treatment in which a great plaza would be built on Columbia Island. From this plaza, roads would lead across the island to bridges which would connect with the proposed Mount Vernon Memorial Parkway and Lee Highway. The traffic circles were eliminated, and Columbia Island would be reshaped to allow for the north–south roadway to pass along the axis of the island. The great plaza was intended to contain two high columns representing the Union and the South. The two columns were to be surmounted by gold statues of Nike. Additionally, the CFA concluded that there should be two high pylons at both the eastern and western ends of the bridge. These pylons were to be inscribed with bas-relief images representing national accomplishments, and topped by statues of golden eagles."Big Plaza for End of Arlington Span Planned By Board." Washington Post. May 25, 1928. Kendall's design also included two large, round Greek Revival temples close to the bridge on the island's east side, and several larger-than-life Greek Revival and Romanesque Revival statues scattered about the island.Kohler, pp. 24–25.

Early construction: Boundary Channel Bridge

Bids for the construction of the Boundary Channel Bridge were opened on July 18, 1928.Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital, 1928, p. 52. The project was divided among several contractors. North Carolina Granite Co. provided the below-water granite, Hallowell Granite Works provided the granite for the voussoirs and the facing on the piers above mean low water level. The Woodbury Granite Company provided the coping granite and balustrades. Hallowell delivered its granite in May 1929, North Carolina Granite delivered its by June, and Woodbury Granite delivered roughly half its granite by June 30, 1929.Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital, 1929, p. 66. The construction contract itself was awarded to the N.P. Severin Company in October 1928.

Nearly a year passed before the CFA approved pylon designs for Columbia Island in March 1929. But the great plaza and roads on the island needed further study."Meridian Hill Park Project Approved." Washington Post. March 22, 1929.

Work on the Boundary Channel Bridge began in the spring of 1929, but immediately ran into problems. An unstable rock shelf thick lay under the western abutment of the Arlington Memorial Bridge. This "rotten rock" had not been revealed by borings two years earlier, but now came to light as construction began on the Boundary Channel Bridge. Additionally, a thin layer of sand and gravel was discovered lying atop the bedrock of the eastern abutment of the Boundary Channel Bridge. Both obstacles had to be removed before construction could proceed further. By June 30, 1929, the Arlington Memorial Bridge's western abutment was finished (except for exterior masonry facing), and many of the concrete columns for the Boundary Channel Bridge were also finished.