The concept of the Tidal Basin originated in the 1870s to serve both as a visual centerpiece and as a means for flushing the Washington Channel, a harbor separated from the
Potomac River by landfills where
East Potomac Park is now situated. Colonel
Peter Conover Hains of the
United States Army Corps of Engineers oversaw the Basin's design and construction. The Basin was initially named the
Tidal Reservoir. It later received the name of
Twining Lake to honor Major William Johnson Twining of the Corps of Engineers, who served on the
Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia as its Engineer Commissioner during 1879. In the Commissioners' annual report to Congress for that year, Major Twining proposed to create the tidal reservoir and use its water to help "flush" the Washington Channel. A 1917 map of Washington that the U.S. Public Buildings Commission prepared shows the Basin with the name "Twining Lake". West potomac park.jpg|Satellite image of the western portion of the National Mall, the Tidal Basin and West Potomac Park (April 2002). The Washington Channel (not visible) is to the right of the Tidal Basin. The Matthews-Northrup up-to-date map of Washington, D.C. LOC 88693353.tif|1897 map of Washington, D.C., showing the "Tidal Reservoir", the Potomac River and the Washington Channel Tidal Basin photographers and painter.jpg|Tidal Basin between 1909 and 1932 with cherry trees in blossom
Tidal Basin Bathing Beach In August 1918, the Congressionally funded Tidal Basin Bathing Beach opened in front of the site of the present-day Jefferson Memorial. Although the
racially segregated beach was "a place to see people and be seen", a strictly enforced rule prohibited women's
bathing suits that stopped more than six inches above the knee. By one estimate, the beach attracted up to 20,000 people on a July day in 1920. The beach hosted
beauty contests until 1922, when a beach official banned the pageants for being too risqué. ==Design==