The national capital, Washington, DC This detail of the bird's eye view of the city, "The national capital, Washington, D.C. Sketched from nature by Adolph Sachse, 1883-1884" shows the National Mall before the Army Corps of Engineers began to dredge the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/424">Potomac River</a> to fill in the tidal wetlands. The project was intended to enlarge the shipping channel and to help prevent flooding and sewage accumulation. The <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/326">Reclamation of Potomac Flats</a> began in 1882 and continued to 1890. Landfill extended the length and width of the Mall, forming East Potomac Park and extending the Mall beyond the site of the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/36">Washington Monument</a>. When the project ended, Washington, DC, had 638 acres of new land. <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Adolph+Sachse">Adolph Sachse</a> <span>Library of Congress Geography and Map Division</span>. <a href="http://www.loc.gov/item/75693178">View original</a>. <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1860-1889">1860-1889</a>