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Captain Montgomery C. Meigs: Washington Visionary:
When Lt. Montgomery Meigs was called to Washington, DC is 1852, he was an unknown member of the Army's elite Corp of Engineers (July 1, 1837 - May 14, 1861). His early years had been spent building or reinforcing Army installations including Fort Wayne on the Detroit River (1841-49) and Fort Montgomery on Lake Champlain (1850-52). One of his first assignments, surveying improvements for the upper Mississippi River (1837), had been under the command of then Lt. Robert E. Lee.
Less than a decade after his arrival, the city's residents knew of Captain Meigs -- as did President-elect, Abraham Lincoln. His engineering know-how, fastidious oversight of contracts, bias for hiring exceptionally talented collaborators, and ability to lobby Congress had already left an indelible mark on the built environment on the city -- and ruffled more than a few feathers. In the 1850s, he was assigned chief engineer and superintendent of construction for the following projects...
Washington Aqueduct:
(November 3, 1852 - September 20, 1860; February 21, 1861 - June 18, 1862)
Meigs surveyed, designed, and built the city's 12-mile long water supply system which runs from the Potomac River at Great Falls, Maryland, to Georgetown. The system originally included three reservoirs and two long-span bridges: Cabin John or Union Arch Bridge and the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge.
U.S. Capitol Extension and New Dome:
(March 29, 1853 - November 2, 1859; February 21, 1861 - May 13, 1861)
Meigs oversaw construction of the new House and Senate chambers, as well as an innovative cast-iron dome, all initially designed by architect Thomas U. Walter. Taking full advantage of his authority, Meigs made critical engineering and design decisions, including selecting the artists (i.e., Italian fresco painter Constantino Brumidi, muralist Emanuel Leutze, and sculptors Thomas Crawford and Randolph Rogers) and subject matter for much of the Capitol's decoration and ornamentation.
U.S. General Post Office Extension
(April 25, 1855 - November 2, 1859) |