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The Changing Yard
In its first years, the navy yard consisted of a small dock and several wooden storehouses, surrounded by mud flats and rolling pastures. In 1812, the commandant noted: "the establishment...afforded no advantage or facility for naval purposes... a few temporary wooden buildings were all it contained, except the commandant's house and the Marine barracks - unenclosed, it was even exposed to the inroads of cattle from the highway."
The navy yard soon changed, keeping pace with the country's growth and power. Two imposing "shiphouses," 210 feet long and six stories high, sheltered new 74-gun "ship of the line." timber sheds, a mast house, a ropewalk, sail lofts, and wharves crowded the yard.
Steam, and later electricity, further transformed the yard. Machine shops, a forge, and foundries now served a navy made of steel. Hemmed in by river and town, the yard pushed into the harbor with piers, railways, and cranes. |