National Register of Historic Places

Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial

Washington, District of Columbia County, District of Columbia
Listed
October 14, 1966
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
66000869

About this property

Theodore Roosevelt Island is an 88.5-acre (358,000 m2) island and national memorial located in the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. During the Civil War, it was used as a training camp for the United States Colored Troops. The island was given to the federal government by the Theodore Roosevelt Association in memory of the 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt. Until then, the island had been known as My Lord's Island, Barbadoes Island, Mason's Island, Analostan Island, and Anacostine Island. The island is maintained by the National Park Service, as part of the nearby George Washington Memorial Parkway. The land is generally maintained as a natural park, with various trails and a memorial plaza featuring a statue of Roosevelt. No cars or bicycles are permitted on the island, which is reached by a footbridge from Arlington, Virginia, on the western bank of the Potomac. According to the National Park Service: "In the 1930s landscape architects transformed Mason’s Island from neglected, overgrown farmland into Theodore Roosevelt Island, a memorial to America’s 26th president. They conceived a 'real forest' designed to mimic the natural forest that once covered the island. Today miles of trails through wooded uplands and swampy bottomlands honor the legacy of a great outdoorsman and conservationist." A small island, Little Island, lies just off the southern tip; Georgetown and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts are respectively across the main channel of the Potomac to the north and the east.

Location

Washington, District of Columbia County, District of Columbia
38.89628, -77.06302

Categories

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURECONSERVATIONARTENTERTAINMENT/RECREATIONMILITARYPOLITICS/GOVERNMENTCOMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENTSOCIAL HISTORYTRANSPORTATION
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

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0.5 mi
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Key, Francis Scott, Bridge
Industrial
0.6 mi

Nearby Battles

September 11 Pentagon Attack
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1.7 mi
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Questions about this property

When was Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial listed on the National Register?

Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 14, 1966.

What type of historic resource is Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial?

Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial?

The period of significance for Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial is recorded as the listed era.

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