Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens: Cultural Landscape Inventory, National Capital Parks-East-Anacostia Park, National Park Service

Donaldson, Emily

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens encompass 8½ acres on the edge of the marsh bordering the east side of the Anacostia River, on the 1500 block of Anacostia Ave. in the northeast quadrant of Washington, DC. The curving path of Anacostia Ave., N.E. defines its eastern edge, while to the north, south and west the boundary roughly follows the perimeter of the currently existing ponds. Today, a network of grassy paths lead between 45 ponds separated by earthen dikes whose underground drainage pipes control water flow. To the east of the ponds, the building complex includes a visitor center, two greenhouses and a restroom facility. The Corps of Engineers bought the aquatic gardens from Lucy Helen Fowler, the daughter of founder Walter B. Shaw in 1938 and the property came under the jurisdiction of the NPS the following year. Civil War veteran and U.S. Treasury clerk Walter B. Shaw bought this property in 1879 with his wife, Luciana Miller. A native of Maine, Shaw soon began adapting a nearby ice pond for use in growing a few hardy water lilies brought from New England. He quickly expanded the number and variety of lilies through travel and experimentation with hybridizing new plants, and soon his hobby had become a booming business enterprise. Winding, willow-shaded paths led through a growing network of pools thick with water lilies, lotus, and other aquatic plants. Shaw’s daughter, L. Helen Shaw Fowler, took over the gardens in 1912. The following year, two steam-heated greenhouses were built to help properly care for new plants and bring the tropical lily varieties through the cold winter months. Fowler continued the work of her father into the 1930s, by which time the property encompassed 42 pools. In the meantime, work on the Anacostia River by the Army Corps of Engineers had advanced to the point of condemning her property as federal land. After years of contesting this appropriation, Fowler eventually agreed to sell the core 8.5 acres of the gardens to the government in 1938. As the only NPS site devoted entirely to the propagation and display of aquatic plants, Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens is a unique resource. More specifically, it is nationally significant for its unique landscape and botanical, educational and recreational contribution to the history of the District of Columbia and the nation. The historic period of significance for the site is 1882 to 1938, lasting from the first year that Shaw may have planted water lilies there to its conversion from a commercial farm to a public park. As a landscape associated with the lives of persons significant to our past, in particular early aquatic horticulturalist Walter B. Shaw and his daughter, Helen Fowler, the gardens meet Criterion B of the National Register of Historic Places Criteria for Evaluation. The site also qualifies for listing under Criterion C, for its significant and distinguishable character as a once nationally-recognized aquatic water garden that was one of the first of its kind in the United States. Consequently, the park has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since August 25, 1978. Today, the cultural landscape of Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens is in fair condition, and retains a high level of integrity to its historic period of significance. The site consists of 45 ponds, six display pools and three associated structures. Although some changes in vegetation and pond layout have taken place, the wandering paths and beautiful water lily displays make it easy for visitors to envision the site as it was historically. Views across the ponds are still marked by overhanging hardwood trees, while the buildings nearby have undergone only minimal alterations from their original appearance.

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens: Cultural Landscape Inventory, National Capital Parks-East-Anacostia Park, National Park Service

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