The Washington Navy Yard has been a symbol of America’s military might for more than two centuries.
The facility was founded in 1799 during John Adams’ administration and soon started turning out some of the nation’s first warships.
During the War of 1812, the yard served as a repair depot for legendary vessels such as USS Constitution. Also around that time, inventor Robert Fulton worked at the site on one of the world’s first torpedoes.
During World War I, and later World War II, massive amounts of bombs and guns were produced at the facility.
Today, the Navy Yard accommodates some 16,000 military, civilian and contract employees and is still at the heart of US high-seas prowess. It is the headquarters for the Naval Sea Systems Command that oversees the building, buying and maintenance of ships.
It also houses the Navy’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps, which was featured in the TV drama “JAG.”
The 41-acre complex is bound either by water or brick walls.
In 1997, the EPA classified the Navy Yard as a toxic Superfund site because of the hazardous waste — including heavy metals like lead — left by the ordnance production that took place there during World War II.
A year earlier, tragedy struck the yard when then-Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jeremy Michael Boorda committed suicide on Navy Yard grounds.