Washington Navy Yard The Washington Navy Yard ( WNY ) is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington , D . C . It is the oldest shore establishment of the U . S . Navy . The Yard currently serves as a ceremonial and administrative center for the U . S . Navy , home to the Chief of Naval Operations , and is headquarters for the Naval Sea Systems Command , Naval Historical Center , the Department of Naval History , the U . S . Navy Judge Advocate General ' s Corps , Naval Reactors , Marine Corps Institute , the United States Navy Band , and other more classified facilities . In 1998 , the yard was listed as a Superfund site due to environmental contamination . History . The history of the yard can be divided into its military history and cultural and scientific history . Military . The land was purchased under an Act of Congress on July 23 , 1799 . The Washington Navy Yard was established on October 2 , 1799 , the date the property was transferred to the Navy . It is the oldest shore establishment of the U . S . Navy . The Yard was built under the direction of Benjamin Stoddert , the first Secretary of the Navy , under the supervision of the Yard ' s first commandant , Commodore Thomas Tingey , who served in that capacity for 29 years . The original boundaries that were established in 1800 , along 9th and M Street SE , are still marked by a white brick wall that surrounds the Yard on the north and east sides . The next year , two additional lots were purchased . The north wall of the Yard was built in 1809 along with a guardhouse , now known as the Latrobe Gate . After the Burning of Washington in 1814 , Tingey recommended that the height of the eastern wall be increased to ten feet ( 3 m ) because of the fire and subsequent looting . The southern boundary of the Yard was formed by the Anacostia River ( then called the " Eastern Branch " of the Potomac River ) . The west side was undeveloped marsh . The land located along the Anacostia was added to by landfill over the years as it became necessary to increase the size of the Yard . From its first years , the Washington Navy Yard became the navy ' s largest shipbuilding and shipfitting facility , with 22 vessels constructed there , ranging from small 70 - foot ( 21 m ) gunboat s to the 246 - foot ( 75 m ) steam frigate USS " Minnesota " . The USS " Constitution " came to the Yard in 1812 to refit and prepare for combat action . During the War of 1812 , the Navy Yard was important not only as a support facility , but also as a vital strategic link in the defense of the capital city . Sailors of Navy Yard were part of the hastily - assembled American army , which , at Bladensburg , Maryland , opposed the British forces marching on Washington . The Navy Yard sailors , and marines of nearby Marine Barracks , Washington , D . C . , were in the third and last line of defense at Bladensburg . Together , they fought hand to hand with cutlasses and pikes against the British regulars before being overwhelmed . As the British marched into Washington , holding the Yard became impossible . Tingey , seeing the smoke from the burning Capitol , ordered the Yard burned to prevent its capture by the enemy . Tingey ' s own quarters ( now Quarters A ) and the Latrobe Gate were spared from the flames . Both structures are now individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Following the War of 1812 , the Washington Navy Yard never regained its prominence as a shipbuilding facility . The waters of the Anacostia River were too shallow to accommodate larger vessels , and the Yard was deemed too inaccessible to the open sea . Thus came a shift to what was to be the character of the Yard for more than a century : ordnance and technology . The Yard possessed one of the earliest steam engines in the United States , and was used to manufacture anchors , chain , and steam engines for vessels of war . During the American Civil War , the Yard once again became an integral part of the defense of Washington . Commandant Franklin Buchanan resigned his commission to join the Confederacy , leaving the Yard to Commander John A . Dahlgren . President Abraham Lincoln , who held Dahlgren in the highest esteem , was a frequent visitor . The famous ironclad USS " Monitor " was repaired at the Yard after her historic battle with the CSS " Virginia " . The Lincoln assassination conspirators were brought to the Yard following their capture . The body of John Wilkes Booth was examined and identified on the monitor USS " Montauk " , moored at the Yard . Following the war , the Yard continued to be the scene of technological advances . In 1886 , the Yard was designated the manufacturing center for all ordnance in the Navy . Commander Theodore F . Jewell was Superintendent of the Naval Gun Factory from January 1893 to February 1896 . Ordnance production continued as the Yard manufactured armament for the Great White Fleet and the World War I navy . The naval railway gun s used in France during World War I were manufactured at the Yard . By World War II , the Yard was the largest naval ordnance plant in the world . The weapons designed and built there were used in every war in which the United States fought until the 1960s . At its peak , the Yard consisted of 188 buildings on 126 acres ( 0 . 5 km² ) of land and employed nearly 25 , 000 people . Small components for optical systems , and enormous battleship guns were all manufactured here . In December 1945 , the Yard was renamed the U . S . Naval Gun Factory . Ordnance work continued for some years after World War II until finally phased out in 1961 . Three years later , on July 1 , 1964 , the activity was redesignated the Washington Navy Yard . The deserted factory buildings began to be converted to office use . The Washington Navy Yard was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 , and designated a National Historic Landmark on May 11 , 1976 . It was headquarters to the Marine Corps Historical Center . That was moved in 2006 to Quantico . Cultural and scientific . The Washington Navy Yard was the scene of many scientific developments . Robert Fulton conducted research and testing on his clockwork torpedo during the War of 1812 . In 1822 , Commodore John Rodgers built the country ' s first marine railway for the overhaul of large vessels . John A . Dahlgren developed his distinctive bottle - shaped cannon that became the mainstay of naval ordnance before the Civil War . In 1898 , David W . Taylor developed a ship model testing basin , which was used by the Navy and private shipbuilders to test the effect of water on new hull designs . The first shipboard aircraft catapult was tested in the Anacostia River in 1912 , and a wind tunnel was completed at the Yard in 1916 . The giant gears for the Panama Canal locks were cast at the Yard . Navy Yard technicians applied their efforts to medical designs for prosthetic hands and molds for artificial eyes and teeth . The Washington Navy Yard was the ceremonial gateway to the nation ' s capital . In 1860 , the first Japanese diplomatic mission was welcomed to the United States in an impressive pageant at the Yard . The body of World War I ' s Unknown Soldier was received here . Charles A . Lindbergh returned to the Navy Yard in 1927 after his famous transatlantic flight . In 1939 , Britain ' s King George VI , representing the dominion of Canada , visited the Yard during his Washington stay . As of 2004 , the Navy Yard houses a variety of activities . It serves as headquarters , Naval District Washington , and houses numerous support activities for the fleet and aviation communities . The Navy Museum welcomes visitors to the Navy Art Collection and its displays of naval art and artifact s , which trace the Navy ' s history from the Revolutionary War to the present day . The Naval History and Heritage Command is housed in a complex of buildings known as the Dudley Knox Center for Naval History . Leutze Park is the scene of colorful ceremonies . The destroyer USS " Barry " is a museum ship at the Washington Navy Yard , and is open to tourists . The " Barry " is frequently used for change of command ceremonies for naval commands in the area . 2013 shooting . On September 16 , 2013 , a shooting took place at the Yard . Shots were fired at the headquarters for the Naval Sea Systems Command Headquarters building # 197 . Fifteen people , including thirteen civilians , one D . C . police officer , and one base officer , were shot . Twelve fatalities were confirmed by the United States Navy and D . C . Police . Officials said the gunman , Aaron Alexis , a 34 - year - old civilian contractor from Queens , New York , was killed during a gunfight with police . Operations . The Yard serves as a ceremonial and administrative center for the U . S . Navy , home to the Chief of Naval Operations , and is headquarters for the Naval Sea Systems Command , Naval Historical Center , the Department of Naval History , the U . S . Navy Judge Advocate General ' s Corps , Naval Reactors , Marine Corps Institute , the United States Navy Band , the U . S . Navy ' s Military Sealift Command and numerous other naval commands .