The Latrobe Gate (also known as Main Gate, Washington Navy Yard) is a historic

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the mo ...

located at the

Washington Navy Yard The Washington Navy Yard (WNY) is the former shipyard and Weapon, ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy. The Yard currently serv ...

Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Built in 1806 and substantially altered in 1881, the ceremonial entrance to the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

's oldest shore establishment is an example of

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...

and

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

architecture. It was designed by the second

Architect of the Capitol The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) is the federal agency responsible for the maintenance, operation, development, and preservation of the United States Capitol Complex. It is an agency of the legislative branch of the federal government and is ...

Benjamin Henry Latrobe Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe (May 1, 1764 – September 3, 1820) was an Anglo-American neoclassical architect who emigrated to the United States. He was one of the first formally trained, professional architects in the new United States, draw ...

, whose works include St. John's Episcopal Church, the

Baltimore Basilica The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also called the Baltimore Basilica, was the first Roman Catholic cathedral built in the United States, and was among the first major religious buildings construc ...

, and the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...

. The Latrobe Gate is one of the nation's oldest extant examples of Greek Revival architecture. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on August 14, 1973, and is a contributing property to the Washington Navy Yard's status as a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

History

The Washington Navy Yard was established by an Act of Congress on July 23, 1799. Three years later,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

chose Latrobe to design a dry dock and ship repair facility for what was to become an active and strategically located naval yard. Although

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

rejected Latrobe's building plans, the architect was designated "Engineer of the Navy Department" in 1804. Plans for the Main Gate were approved by

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

Robert Smith in 1805, and construction lasted from that year until 1806. Latrobe's Greek Revival design was considered daring and thus criticized by traditionalist architects.

William Thornton William Thornton (May 20, 1759 – March 28, 1828) was a British-American physician, inventor, painter and architect who designed the United States Capitol. He also served as the first Architect of the Capitol and first Superintendent of the ...

, the first Architect of the Capitol, described the gate as a "monument to bad taste and design". Thornton predicted that "not until extinction of time will such an arch ever be made again", but the Greek Revival style became popular with 19th-century American architects. The style was considered symbolic of the young nation's

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...

, a political system that originated in

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of Classical Antiquity, classical antiquity ( AD 600), th ...

. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, Washington, D.C., was invaded by

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forces. The Navy Yard was a primary target during the attack, and was burned along with much of the city in 1814. The gate was one of only three structures at the Navy Yard not destroyed during the fire. In 1881, a Marine barracks was constructed around and over the Main Gate. The brick, Italianate structure is two stories high above the gate and three stories high on each side of the gate. It is the oldest continuously manned Marine

guardhouse A guardhouse (also known as a watch house, guard building, guard booth, guard shack, security booth, security building, or sentry building) is a building used to house personnel and security equipment. Guardhouses have historically been dormit ...

in the United States. It is located four blocks south of the Marine Barracks Washington. The Marines manning the Latrobe Gate are responsible for raising and lowering the American flag outside the Chief of Naval Operations' (CNO's) house.

References

External links

{{National Register of Historic Places, state=collapsed Washington Navy Yard Barracks on the National Register of Historic Places Gates in the United States Residential buildings completed in 1806 Buildings of the United States government in Washington, D.C. Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Historic district contributing properties in Washington, D.C. Gate Greek Revival architecture in Washington, D.C. Italianate architecture in Washington, D.C. 1806 establishments in Washington, D.C.

History

See also

References

External links