United Brick Corporation Brick Complex, defunct brickyard on the grounds of the United States National Arboretum
United Brick Corporation Brick Complex is a factory site in Washington, D.C. where bricks were manufactured. The site contains twelve beehive-shaped kilns made with common brick outer walls and heat-resistant firebrick interiors, along with a factory building and a drying shed featuring multiple drying tunnels.
The site was established in 1927 and saw its major expansion between the late 1920s and early 1930s when the beehive-shaped kilns were constructed. Production ceased in the early 1970s, and the site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
The complex reflects the craft of brick making as workers practiced it roughly a century ago, with each kiln serving a specific role in the production process. The circular arrangement and sturdy construction show how the site was organized to turn raw clay into finished bricks for building the expanding city.
The site is located on federal land next to the National Arboretum and is not open to public access as it is protected land. The remaining structures can be observed from a distance, and the site is documented in the National Register of Historic Places for those interested in the region's industrial history.
Two of the kilns built after 1939 were designed to burn oil directly and lack the side arches found on older ones that once burned coal. These structural differences show how fuel technology shifted within brick-making operations at this location.
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