Territorial Government: Board of Public Works

Territorial Government: Board of Public Works

In 1871, Washington D.C. was granted territorial status by Congress with the Organic Act, which permitted self-government of the City and the formation of a Board of Public Works. The Board of Public Works was appointed by the President, and was charged with the modernization of the city. This new and much-needed local agency could attend to urgent infrastructure issues that became more acute during the post-bellum era, characterized by enormous stresses of new migration and a renewed fortification of Washington’s status as a federal capitol. The Board of Public Works assumed jurisdiction of right-of-way and for the first time the city fabric was subject to coordinated and comprehensive investments in water, sewer, and gas infrastructure. A systematic program of street paving began, which finally delineated Triangle Parks as a discrete features in the Right-of-Way. During the short 1871-1874 period under the Department of Public Works, more than two of three hundred miles of city streets were paved, more than most American cities.

1871/1874