Club members, guests tour historic Washington Navy Yard

National Press Club members learned about the evolution of the Washington Navy Yard on a June 1 trip to the historic facility.

"The Navy used to build sailing ships and manufactured all kinds of naval guns here but now it's mainly an administrative base," said Dave Winkler, a retired Navy officer and Naval Historical Foundation historian, as he led 27 Club members and guests during the visit.

The 90-minute walking tour was coordinated by the Club's Events Team and American Legion Post 20, which has been long associated with the Club. It concluded with a visit to the Navy Museum including, in a separate building, its Cold War Gallery.

Founded in 1799, the Navy Yard is the oldest shore establishment in the Navy. In its early years it was the Navy's largest shipbuilding facility. During the War of 1812 the Commandant of the Yard, Commodore Thomas Tingey, had it burned to prevent capture by the British, Winkler said.

In the 19th century, the Navy Yard became the Navy's manufacturing center for ordnance; by World War II it was the largest naval ordnance plant in the world. Numerous naval guns manufactured at the Yard -- renamed in the post-World War II era as the U.S. Naval Gun Factory -- were on display during the tour.

Winkler explained that after World War I, the Navy Yard expanded to the west, almost to the location of today's Nationals Stadium. Tingey Street SE, the main thoroughfare through the rapidly developing Yards neighborhood, is named after Commodore Tingey, Navy Yard Commandant for its first 29 years.

Today some 15,000 persons work at the Navy Yard. It is the headquarters of numerous Navy commands, including Navy Sea Systems Command, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Naval Reactors, Navy Installations Command, Navy History and Heritage Command and the Navy Band. It is also the home of the Chief of Naval Operations, the senior uniformed officer of the Navy.