Kingman Island and Heritage Island are islands in Northeast and Southeast Washington, D.C., in the Anacostia River. Both islands are man-made, built from material dredged from the Anacostia River and completed in 1916. Kingman Island is bordered on the east by the Anacostia River, and on the west by 110-acre (45 ha) Kingman Lake. Heritage Island is surrounded by Kingman Lake. Both islands were federally owned property managed by the National Park Service until 1995. They are currently owned by the D.C. government, and managed by Living Classrooms National Capital Region. Kingman Island is bisected by Benning Road and the Ethel Kennedy Bridge, with the southern half of the island bisected again by East Capitol Street and the Whitney Young Memorial Bridge. As of 2010, Langston Golf Course occupied the northern half of Kingman Island, while the southern half of Kingman Island and all of Heritage Island remained largely undeveloped. Kingman Island, Kingman Lake and nearby Kingman Park are named after Brigadier General Dan Christie Kingman, the former head of the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
Kingman Island from the Anacostia River, looking North (June 2017)
A ship begins dredging the Anacostia River in July 1912.
Dwight F. Davis and others break ground for the dedication of Anacostia Park in August 1923.
The Whitney Young Memorial Bridge, center, was built across Kingman Island and the Anacostia River in 1955. Construction on RFK Stadium began two years later.
Kingman Lake is a 110-acre (0.45 km2) artificial lake located in the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C., in the United States. The lake was created in 1920 when the United States Army Corps of Engineers used material dredged from the Anacostia River to create Kingman Island. The Corps of Engineers largely blocked the flow of the Anacostia River to the west of Kingman Island, creating the lake. Kingman Lake is currently managed by the National Park Service.
A view of the northern portion of Kingman Lake on the west side of Kingman Island, facing south
An aerial photograph looking west at the middle and lower portions of Kingman Lake in 1991. Heritage Island is in the middle of the lake, while Kingman Island (the much longer island) forms the barrier between Kingman Lake and the Anacostia River. Note the Whitney Young Memorial Bridge, built across the lake, island, and river in 1956.