Existing comment:
Behind These Walls
Serving as an Arsenal and Gun Factory
Industry
The first large gun foundry was erected during the Civil War at the Navy Yard. In 1886, the Navy Yard was designated the manufacturing center for all Navy ordnance. By World War II, the Yard was the largest naval ordnance in the world. In December 1945, the Washington Navy Yard was renamed the U.S. Gun Factory. Gun manufacturing ended here in 1961. In 1964, the Yard was formally redesignated as the Washington Navy Yard. |