We're Moving the Lockkeeper's House

The Lockkeeper's House — the oldest structure on the Natinoal Mall — will be relocated and restored with a new visitor-friendly entrance, surrounding outdoor plaza and interior digital education displays.

Untouched for nearly 40 years, the 180-year old structure will soon welcome visitors from around the world to the National Mall.

The Lockkeeper's House is a gateway between the city to the north and landscapes of the National Mall to the south, east and west, making it the ideal venue to showcase the story of the development and construction of the National Mall.

Field Report No. 1

The recently completed, "Interior Demolition" is the first official phase of the project.

With a variety of uses over the years, the Lockkeeper's House features a number of small rooms. In order to both open up the house to visitors and reduce the overall weight of the structure, interior walls separating rooms have been removed. Additinoal sections of the interior wall were also removed to determine the condition of the underlying brick, which will be exposed in the new interior finish.

Significant work has also been done to the roof of the house. The roof has been removed down to the trusses to further lighten the weight of the house for the big move.

In 1915, the Lockkeeper's House was initially relocated. As this time, the original brick chimneys were removed and replaced with shorter stone chimneys. The existing stone chimneys have now been removed so that brick chimneys can be reinstalled ater relocation, restoring the structure back to its original design from the 1800s.

What's Next

 

Check back in for more information from the next phase of the project where we will lay the foundation for the new location of the Lockkeeper's House.

Support This Project

 

Limited public funds are not sufficient to relocate and restore this humble structure on the National Mall.

An additional $3 million in private funding is needed to complete this project and interior digital exhibit, providing guests the opportunity to interact with visitor-activated projections of animated historic figures, helping tell the story of the Lockkeeper's House and the National Mall.

By preserving the Lockkeeper's House, we are choosing to save a critical part of our shared history.

Click here to lend your support today.