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All the United States Washington, D.C. Watergate Steps
AO Edited

Watergate Steps

Decades before the scandal, this staircase on the river was a literal "water gate."

Washington, D.C.

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Molly McBride Jacobson
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The Watergate Steps.   Tim Evanson/CC BY-SA 2.0
Looking onto Ohio Drive from the Watergate Steps.   Tim Evanson/CC BY-SA 2.0
The Watergate Steps across Ohio Drive.   Tim Evanson/CC BY-SA 2.0
The Watergate Steps.   Tim Evanson/CC BY-SA 2.0
View of Arlington from the steps   Jason Michael Walker / Atlas Obscura User
Bridge 🌉   Jason Michael Walker / Atlas Obscura User
View of the Lincoln Monument from the steps   Jason Michael Walker / Atlas Obscura User
Sun is setting   Jason Michael Walker / Atlas Obscura User
  Jason Michael Walker / Atlas Obscura User
  dmvfille / Atlas Obscura User
One of the last “Sunset Symphonies” in 1965 on the Watergate Steps.   Library of Congress/LC-U9-14257- 25 [P&P]
Dawn   erkiletian / Atlas Obscura User
Seen from the River, Fall of 2013   TE Watts / Atlas Obscura User
Stairway to nowhere   waywardwillard / Atlas Obscura User
  IgFan / Atlas Obscura User
  IgFan / Atlas Obscura User
Watergate Steps   Jason Michael Walker / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Few people know that the first Watergate wasn't the hotel where a presidential scandal took place. It was a forgotten staircase on Washington, D.C.'s waterfront.

The stairs were originally intended to act as a dock for visiting dignitaries and politicians disembarking off the Potomac River. The idea was that guests would ascend the 40 concrete steps of the grand staircase from the river to the Lincoln Memorial as they entered the United States capital. 

This plan didn't pan out, and instead, the Watergate Steps became a concert space. The orchestra would play on a barge docked in the Potomac while the audience sat on the steps beneath the night sky. The "Sunset Symphonies" went on from 1935 until 1965, when they were canceled because the noise from jets flying overhead drowned out the music.

The original Watergate steps remain, a useless set of stairs leading to nowhere that are still an integral part of the National Mall's landscape.

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Stairs Public Works Rivers Politics

Know Before You Go

During early morning rush hour, you see joggers running up and down these stairs using them like 'stadium steps'; some appear to be racing down towards the Potomac River. If you sit at the top, you get a nice view over the Potomac into Virginia.

Community Contributors

Added By

Molly McBride Jacobson

Edited By

kristin1108, erkiletian, waywardwillard, TE Watts...

  • kristin1108
  • erkiletian
  • waywardwillard
  • TE Watts
  • IgFan
  • Jason Michael Walker
  • dmvfille

Published

November 29, 2016

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  • http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/15508/do-you-know-the-other-watergate/
  • http://dctourguideonline.com/2016/01/13/the-watergate-steps-to-nowhere-along-the-potomac/
  • https://dcbikeblogger.wordpress.com/2015/07/10/the-watergate-steps/
Watergate Steps
620 Ohio Drive Southwest
Washington, District of Columbia
United States
38.889254, -77.052614
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