Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-06-27
THE OLD SHIP HOUSE GONE,
Demolition of . structure in Which Some
Famous Frtgates Were Born.

THE OLD SHIP HOUSE GONE.
Demolition of structure in Which Some
Famous Frtgates Were Born.
The demolition Of the west ship house at the
navy yard has been completed. It was the odd
looking yellow-painted structure that stood at
the southwest corner Of the yard. For over
half century it has been familiar object to
river faring folk and to the people who live
south Of the Eastern branch.
1t at one time housed building slip No. 4.
Since the launch of the junior Nipsic on June
IL, 1878. it had not been used for the purposes
for which designed. but as store for nautical
junk Between 1878 and 1884 there was no case
OF construction or repair requiring the use of
this ship house, and in the latter year. on rec
S ON of the gun fonndry board, the
Washington navy yard was converted into an
ordnance foundry. The removal of the build
ing was determined on last winter.
The manner of tearing it down was unique.
The roof tin was ripped off and the ridge pole
sawed through at point about thirty-ive feet
west of the east cornice. Carpenters, with
ordinary hand saws, then cut through the roof
from the rioge to the sides and down to the
ground. thus severing the easternmost thirty
hve feet from the remainder Of the building.
This operation consumed two days.
heavy hemp cable was next made
fast to deck cleat affixed to
the roof OF the severed portion and dashed
around ships capstan on the ground about
go feet east of the foundation. This capstan
was secured by wire cables. splashed and caught
on piles. The capstan bars we're inserted, hand
power applied, the cable straightend, and the
section creaked and fell. A cloud of dust and
a sho wer of splinters followed. The crash was
heard by people in the southernmost precincts
Of the District and in Maryland.
SAWED INTO SECTIONS.
The ahiD house sawed into ton socf;ope
and on each alternate day one was pulled away.
Commander +. W. Dickens superintendent and
Foreman T. C. Yelling supervised the work.
The building was 306 feet long, 81 feet wide, SO
feet high at the east end and 108 feet at the west
end. This discrepancy was due to the uneven
grade. All that now remains is a timber heap.
WOrknen are engaged in recovering such tim
Der as may be of use to the navy. The residue
will be auctioned. The sound and heavy oak
beams Will be used for target backing at the
Indian Head proving grounds.
The history of the ship house is intimately
associated with that of the American navy. In
ii and in the building slip which it housed
were built or repaired many shlps-of-the-line,
frigates and sloops that in the days Of wooden
war craft made our naval annals bright.
The erection of the ship house ante
dates the memory of the oldest employe.
Several of the old residents of East Washing
ton, among them Col. TAFT and Mr.. VIM. Tai
bert. can recollect it IN course Of construction,
but are not able to recall the precise date. The
bureau of yards and docks of the Navy De-
partment has no record of il because the bu-
reaus were not created till 1912. Prior to that
time the navy commissioners had authority.
The date of building would probably be found
by wading through the reports of Capt Thos.
lingey, commandment from January 20, 1900, to
February %, 1929.
The plan OF the navy yard as surveyed by B.
H. Latrobe. architect and surveyor of the pub
lie buildings of the United States at Washing
ton. contemplated four building slips. Three
were to open to the south and intersect the
channel of the Eastern branch at right angles.
The westernmost slip was not parallel to the
others, but opened in direction very few
points south OF west, as to strike the channel
obliquely and lessen the danger Of hulls run
ming on the flats after going off the ways.
OLD FRIGArEs BUILT THERE.
William Marbury of Annapolis was, on the
23d Of May. disappointed by Secretary Beuja-
min Stoddert as naval agent for the District Of
Columbia. He was authorized to contract for
materials for building at the Washington yard
| one OF six seventy-four-gun ships for which
| Cangress had, on the 25th Of the preceding
February, appropriated Sl,000.0OO. Historian
of the yard Hibben fails to make further mem
ton of this chip. The Wasp was built in the
west slip in 1s06 and the unlucky Chesapeake
was overhauled here little while before
the Leopard incident. In 1906 three
of the gun boats, Nos. /. and 10,
appropriated lOr wear DeIOr0 were Ia uDcn6Q.
Soon after the famous frigates President. New
York and Essex and the briggs Syren and Nixen
were overhauled and the west slip kept busy.
In 1903 the Preble model gun boats Nos. % and
70 to 7s. inclusive. were launched and it is as
! sumed that a fair percentage of them went out
from the west slip. In 1911 the frigate Con-
gress and the schooner Enterprise we're rebuilt.
In 1872 the gun boat Scorpion went of and
at the burning of the navy yard in August,
1874 the good ship Columbia went up in smoke
while on the stocks.
There was no housed slip at the yard in 1914,
else it would be mentioned in Commandment
Tingey's report of losses. The seventy-fou
gun ship Columbus and the frigate Potomac, of
forty-four guns, went down the ways in 1919
and the schooner Shark in 1921.
The report OF the Secretary of the Navy in
1923 mentions among other improvements at
| the yard an inclined plane with house over 1t.
REPAIRED AND ENLARGED.
This was what is now called the east ship
house and which contains the submarine rail-
way. The first mention of the west ship
house is found in Naval Affairs, vol g.
| Thirty thousand dollars was it's estimated
| cost. This was i'll 1925. Repairs to the
| amour. of 81, 500 were put on it in 1886,
and in 1887 the board of commission asked for
! an additional appropriation OF 5000. In 1910
an appropriation of $4,000 was made for re-
pairs of wharfs and buildings and the west ship
house got its share. The building was con-
sofa, which was built in the early fifties and
left the yard July 80. 1856.
The frigate Braudywine, A guns, was
launched in 1925; Ingraham's ship, the sloop
| st. Louis, went down the ways in 1928. and on
March 3, 1886, the 64-gun new Columbia took
the water, according to the Army aud Macy
| Chronicle, ''in beautiful STYLE"
The sloOp of war ST. Mary's left the ship
house that was at SPIN. on November "a,
lSil.
The first steamer built at the yard was the
Union and she was begun in 184l, and year
| or two later the iron steamer Water Witch left
| the stocks.
During the civil war the old housed slip was
| busy place and many vessels of the Potomac
| hotilla were at different times under cover
there. As already stated the junior Nipsic was
| the last ship to leave the house.
Successful Art Student
Mr.. Andreas Anderson Of Newport R. l., Of
Norwegian parentage. pupil of Mr.. Ernest L.
Major in Boston, Mass, was last week awarded
the Longfellow art scholarship after COMPETE
tive examination of all the art schools Of the