Navy Department Library

Historical marker location:

805 Kidder Breese Street Southeast, Navy Yard, District of Columbia

( Marker is on Dahlgren Avenue Southeast south of Kidder Breese Street Southeast, on the left when traveling south.)

Marker installed: 1982

The city was built on a swamp: The area that is now Washington, D.C. was originally a swampy, marshy region along the Potomac River. The construction of the city involved extensive drainage and landfill projects to make the land suitable for building.