- National Harbor
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National Harbor — Locale[1] — Country United States State Maryland County Prince George's County, Maryland ZIP 20745 Area code(s) 301 Website www.nationalharbor.com National Harbor is a 300-acre (1.2 km2) multi-use waterfront development on the shores of the Potomac River in Prince George's County, Maryland just south of Washington, D.C. near the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. It is being built by the Peterson Companies. The project is expected to cost over $2 billion.[2] In addition to the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, which opened on April 1, 2008, National Harbor will contain five new hotels, waterfront condos, offices, retail stores, nightspots, a marina, and a new location for the National Children's Museum.
Central area of National Harbor featuring the sculpture The Awakening
McCormick and Schmick'sContents
Facilities
The site has a convention center, six hotels, restaurants, shopping and condominiums. National Harbor hosted Cirque du Soleil in 2008 and features outdoor activities such as a culinary festival and outdoor concerts by local artists.[3] The site includes a beachfront walking path and a connection to a bike trail on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge that crosses into Alexandria, Virginia.
In spring 2009, The Walt Disney Company announced that it would build a new resort hotel at the National Harbor.[4]
Access
Water taxi to AlexandriaNational Harbor has direct road access to Interstate 95/495 (the Beltway), Interstate 295 (Anacostia Freeway), and Oxon Hill Road. Commuters traveling via Indian Head Highway may access National Harbor by utilizing the Oxon Hill Road exits.[5] Early critics of National Harbor argued that the site is not accessible enough to the Washington Metro, the Washington area's rapid transit system. However, local civic groups dropped a lawsuit against National Harbor's developer in exchange for assurances of greater investment in the surrounding community and better access to mass transit.[6] Three years later, the state funded over $500 million in road improvements in order to handle the 10,000 cars expected to commute daily to National Harbor.[5]
The new Woodrow Wilson Bridge, which forms part of the Capital Beltway near National Harbor, was built to allow capacity for a future Washington Metro line.[7] However, there are no current plans to extend rail over the bridge to development. Instead, the state of Maryland pays $312,000 annually for bus access to National Harbor from the Branch Avenue Metro station. In June 2008, the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center asked the state to fund additional transit service because employees found it difficult to reach National Harbor.[8] In 2011, Metro began considering the possibility of building a rail extension to National Harbor off the Green Line as part of its long-term plan.[9]
A water taxi line run by the Potomac Riverboat Company connects the National Harbor to Alexandria, Virginia. The City of Alexandria also runs shuttles from the water taxi terminal to King Street – Old Town Metro station. The service costs the city about $800,000 per year.[10]
Controversy
Start of construction for National Harbor (lower left) at the junction of the Capital Beltway and the southern terminus of the Anacostia Freeway; Woodrow Wilson Bridge is just off the picture to the left.This development has caused considerable controversy due to its environmental impacts. The Sierra Club voiced strong objections in 1999 saying that construction of National Harbor would "prevent forever the completion of the Potomac Heritage Trail".[11] The site was linked to hundreds of thousands of gallons of untreated sewage being discharged into the Potomac River in 2008.[12]
Panorama of National Harbor
References
- ^ "National Harbor". Geographic Names Information System, U.S. Geological Survey. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:2426650.
- ^ Washington Post article
- ^ National Harbor's calendar of events
- ^ Heath, Thomas (2009-05-19). "Disney Buys Land for Future Resort Hotel at National Harbor". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/18/AR2009051803201.html. Retrieved 2009-06-29.
- ^ a b Wiggins, Ovetta (2007-06-09). "Direct Access Planned For National Harbor". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/08/AR2007060802735.html. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
- ^ Wiggins, Ovetta (2004-08-12). "National Harbor Suit Dropped". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A58152-2004Aug11. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
- ^ "New Potomac River Bridge Project Overview". www.wilsonbridge.com. unknown. http://www.wilsonbridge.com/index.php/about-us/scope-of-work/project-history/archives/project-overview/16-new-potomac-river-bridge. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
- ^ Wiggins, Ovetta (2008-06-04). "Gaylord Resort Asks for More Transit Service". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/03/AR2008060303249.html. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
- ^ http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/dc/2011/06/metro-studies-more-rail-lines-future
- ^ Downey, Kirstin (2008-04-01). "Tourism Hopes Riding On Alexandria Trolley". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/31/AR2008033102669.html?hpid=artslot. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
- ^ "The Wilson Crossing: A Better Vision". The Sierra Club, Maryland Chapter. April 26, 1999. http://maryland.sierraclub.org/archive/1999/mayjun/wilson.html. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
- ^ Zapotosky, Matt (June 23, 2008). "Residents Blame National Harbor for Sewage Spills". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/22/AR2008062201983.html. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
External links
Coordinates: 38°46′58″N 77°00′54″W / 38.7826400°N 77.0150600°W
Categories:- Buildings and structures in Prince George's County, Maryland
- Populated places on the Potomac River
- Redeveloped ports and waterfronts
- Marinas in the United States
- Visitor attractions in Prince George's County, Maryland
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