Poplar Point Site

Site History

The Poplar Point Site (the Site) was created in part by the filling of tidal marshes along the Anacostia River between 1882 and 1927. The Poplar Point area has undergone a variety of land uses since that time. The southwestern portion of the approximately 110 acre Site has historically been divided into two parcels, both of which supported nurseries and greenhouse operations from the mid-1920s until 1993. One of those parcels was used by the Architect of the Capitol (AOC), and the other by the District of Columbia's Lanham Tree Nursery (DCL). The central and eastern portions of the Site were occupied by the Naval Receiving Station (NRS) from the 1940s through the 1960s. Between 1959 and 1980, the Navy either demolished or transferred the remaining buildings located at the NRS to the National Park Service (NPS).

In 2006, Congress enacted legislation (Public Law 109-396, commonly referred to as the DC Lands Act) directing the United States to transfer the Site to the District of Columbia (District), but the transfer is not yet complete. Currently, the NPS Headquarters for NACE, the U.S. Park Police Anacostia Operations Facility (AOF), and the U.S. Park Police Aviation Unit facilities occupy a portion of the Site formerly occupied by the NRS. The former greenhouse and nursery areas are unused and vegetation has been allowed to grow naturally there. The Site also includes various storage buildings, wetlands, and managed meadows. The existing wetlands, meadows, scrub-shrub areas, and willow thickets at the Site provide important habitat for a diversity of plant and animal life, including some species of special concern.

Location: National Capital Parks - East (NACE) Anacostia Park Unit S.E. Washington, D.C. Between South Capitol Street Bridge, 11th Street Bridges, Anacostia Freeway (Interstate 295), and the Anacostia River (approximately one mile upstream from the confluence of the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers) Contacts: Emily Ferguson Project Manager (NACE) Phone: [phone] Greg Nottingham NPS CERCLA Project Coordinator Phone: [phone]

For more information, select a link below: Community Involvment Environmental Investigations Project Milestones Site Documents

 

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• Anacostia Park Environmental Cleanup Project