according to a flyer i picked up at an open house this past sunday:
"Bloomingdale was the country estate of George and Emily Beale., members of a prominent military family. In 1834 George Beale deeded land and water right of way to springs on his Bloomingdale estate to the city to be used as a water supply for the Capitol. Both General Ulysses S. Grant and President Abraham Lincoln were visitors to his home. In 1887, the Bloomingdale estate was divided among Emily Beale's heirs and sold to several real estate developers."
also, seems everytime i look at blooomingdale on wikipedia our boundaries change.
by my reckoning, the northern bourdary is michigan avenue. the deeding of the water rights mention above jives with the time period, Smith Spring, and actions mentioned durring the mcmillan field trip i took.
The Washington Aqueduct, built in 1853 replaced the Smith Spring usage with water from the Potomac.
Wow, that McMillian field trip looks so cool. You know, until I read this post just now, I've lived in D.C. for 20 years (my whole life) and I've never been able to find someone who could tell me what the hell that Big Empty Thing was on North Cap street or why it was just sitting there going fallow. Thanks for the pictures. How did you get to go in there? Could anybody go on a McMillan field trip?
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