Misplaced Pages

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32-537: Maine Avenue begins at 17th Street SW and Independence Avenue SW and continues southeast, parallelling the Tidal Basin to 12th Street SW where it crosses under Interstate 395. Continuing southeast, it runs parallel to the Washington Channel and Water Street SW, where it crosses 7th Street . At 6th Street SW, Maine Avenue ends, becoming M Street SW . Points of interest along Maine Avenue include Arena Stage and

64-451: A daughter before their 1985 divorce. In 1981, she gave an interview to The Washington Post in which she spoke about being upset that Mills claimed not to remember what he was doing during his affair, and was particularly hurt by his saying that he had "learned not to drink with foreigners". Under the name Annabel Montgomery, she moved to the St. Petersburg, Florida, in the late 1980s. She earned

96-569: A day. The inlet gates, located on the Potomac side of the Basin, allow water to enter the Basin during high tide. During this time, the outlet gates, on the Washington Channel side, close to store incoming water and block the flow of water and sediment into the channel. As the tide begins to ebb, the general outflow of water from the Basin forces the inlet gates to close. This same force is applied to

128-738: A dock near the eastern end of the Tidal Basin. The activity is popular during the Cherry Blossom Festival, which takes place in April. Sea level rise and land subsidence has caused portions of the paths next to the water to regularly flood at high tide. To address this problem, the Trust for the National Mall brought together in 2020 five design firms to re-imagine the Tidal Basin's future. After completing an environmental assessment that found that

160-599: A pianist who played in clubs. She then began dancing to accompany his piano playing act. By the early 1960s, their act took them to Miami, where she began stripping, and Baltimore. At this time, she began using the stage name Fanne Foxe at the behest of her agent. Foxe emigrated to the United States in 1963 and became a legal resident in 1965. By the late 1960s, she was working in Washington, D.C. Although their marriage had collapsed, she allowed her husband to live with her in

192-520: A planned project would have no significant impact "on the natural, cultural or human environment" in the area, the National Park Service (NPS) then announced in 2023 that would renovate approximately linear 6,800 feet (2,073 m) of seawall along the Basin and parts of West Potomac Park . The Basin's seawall will become 4.75 feet (1.45 m) taller and will stand on a new foundation to prevent it from sinking further. The NPS will increase

224-653: A stripper, at the Riverboat at the Empire State Building . In September 1976, she was featured in Playboy , and again in February 1977. In April 1977, she was interviewed in depth by Cheri magazine. Also in 1977, she starred in the documentary This Is America . She also appeared in an off-Broadway production titled Women Behind Bars . In 1980, Battistella married her manager, businessman Daniel Montgomery, and had

256-482: A visitor for you, and he wants to say hello. Mr. Mills, where are you?" Mills then gave a rambling speech onstage and then a backstage news conference in which he angrily announced that Foxe would no longer be performing. On December 10, 1974, Mills stepped down from his position as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and did not run for re-election in 1976, ending a 38-year congressional career. The Foxe-Mills scandal

288-860: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Tidal Basin (District of Columbia) The Tidal Basin is a man-made reservoir located between the Potomac River and the Washington Channel in Washington, D.C. The Basin is part of West Potomac Park , is near the National Mall and is a focal point of the National Cherry Blossom Festival held each spring. The nearby Jefferson Memorial , Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial overlook

320-604: The Southwest Waterfront , home of the Maine Avenue Fish Market . In 1861, Maine Avenue was a small street north and parallel to Maryland Avenue near Capitol Hill . Interstate 695 was planned to be extended west of Interstate 395 along Maine Avenue. That project, like many proposed interstate highways in the District of Columbia, was canceled. This Washington, D.C. road or road transport-related article

352-596: The United States House of Representatives , and had been a minor contender for the Democratic nomination for president in 1972. By July 1973, Foxe and Mills were regular companions at the Silver Slipper. At the time, Foxe was the featured performer and was billed as the "Argentine Firecracker". Shortly after growing close to Mills, she stopped performing at the Silver Slipper. In August, Mills moved with his wife into

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384-565: The Basin, which is south of the Washington Monument . 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

416-584: The Crystal Towers complex in Arlington County, Virginia, because, as she told The Washington Post , "I don't like him to spend money, and he is the father of my children." In summer 1973, Foxe was introduced to Wilbur Mills at the Silver Slipper club through a common friend and fellow performer. As chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee , Mills was considered one of the most powerful members of

448-431: The Crystal Towers complex, where they frequently played contract bridge with Foxe and her husband. According to Foxe's memoir, Mills had promised to marry her if he could get a divorce. He had also taken her on a three-week vacation to Antigua. Foxe also said that she had been pregnant with Mills's child, but got an abortion to protect his reputation. Shortly before the affair became public, Foxe divorced Eduardo. On

480-585: The Pilgrim Theater in Boston, he wrote that the crowd loved her performance. Capitalizing on her notoriety, she was able to increase her appearance fees for performances at clubs. When hired by Michael Pinter Jr. for a December 1974 show at Club Juana in Orlando, Florida, she increased her fee for a two-week stint from $ 3,500 to $ 15,000 per week. On December 12, 1974, during the first week of her Orlando engagement, she

512-475: The Tidal Basin, carrying eastbound Independence Avenue traffic in three lanes. The bridge's name commemorates Brigadier General Charles Willauer Kutz , a Commissioner of Engineering for the District of Columbia during the first half of the 20th century. Architect Paul Philippe Cret designed the multi-span plate girder bridge , which the engineering firm of Alexander and Repass constructed. Construction began in 1941 and reached completion in 1943. The bridge

544-558: The Washington Channel. A 1917 map of Washington that the U.S. Public Buildings Commission prepared shows the Basin with the name "Twining Lake". 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

576-434: The car screaming in a mix of English and Spanish, and attempted to flee the scene by jumping into the Tidal Basin , which had an average depth of 10 feet (3.0 m). The police pulled her out and handcuffed her. She had two black eyes, and police thought she was suicidal, so she was taken to St. Elizabeths Hospital for treatment. In later interviews, Foxe said she jumped because she wanted to protect Mills's reputation and

608-418: 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. Congress had planned to open a separate beach for African-Americans nearby, but southern senators blocked the plan. Rather than integrating the beach, Congress ordered its dismantling in 1925. The Tidal Basin

640-420: The nearby Tidal Basin and was rescued. Police stated that both Mills and Foxe were intoxicated and that Mills was bleeding from his nose and scratches on his face. The Tidal Basin covers an area of about 107 acres (43 ha) and is 10 feet (3.0 m) deep. The Army Corps of Engineers designed the Basin to enable it to release 250 million US gallons (950,000 m ) of water captured at high tide twice

672-460: The night of October 6–7, 1974, Mills and Foxe were at the Silver Slipper and got into a loud argument. While being driven back by a friend, the car they were in was observed speeding, swerving, and driving without headlights by the Washington, D.C. waterfront near the Jefferson Memorial at around 2:00 a.m. The United States Park Police pulled the vehicle over, and Foxe panicked, got out of

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704-516: The outlet gates, which open into the channel. The force of the water running into the channel sweeps away the Basin's built-up silt The Corps, which maintains the Basin's gates, has restored their functioning. As part of the restoration and redesign of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool , completed in 2012, water is pumped from the Basin to fill the pool. From mid-March until October, paddle-boats are available for rent at

736-724: The stage. With the attention from the Mills scandal, she was able to land multiple media appearances and film offers. In 1975, Battistella published the memoir The Stripper and the Congressman with the help of ghostwriter Yvonne Dunleavy. She also starred as herself in Posse from Heaven . With the proceeds from her fame, Battistella moved to an eight-bedroom house in Westport, Connecticut, with her three children from her marriage to Eduardo before 1976. In January and February 1976, she performed, but not as

768-455: The widths of the walkways around the Basin from the existing 8 feet (2.44 m) to a planned 12 feet (3.7 m) by enlarging the area's paved surface and reducing its green space . In August 2023, the NPS awarded a $ 113 million contract to construct the project, which it expected to start in mid-2024 and take three years to reach completion. The Kutz Memorial Bridge crosses the northern lobe of

800-553: Was an Argentine-American stripper best known for being involved in a 1974 sex scandal surrounding Arkansas Congressman Wilbur Mills . At the time, Mills was the chair of the United States House Committee on Ways and Means and a powerful Democratic politician. The scandal was one of the most reported political sex scandals of the 1970s. In 2009, Foxe was on the Time list of top 10 mistresses, and her affair with Mills

832-480: Was arrested for indecent exposure , allegedly after going completely nude during her act. Club owner Pinter was arrested for letting it happen. When arraigned on December 21, both Foxe and Pinter entered innocent pleas to the charges. The charges against both were dismissed on January 28, 1975, when the judge ruled that prosecutors failed to prove their case. After the Florida incident, Foxe announced her retirement from

864-464: Was dedicated after alterations in 1954. The structure is made of concrete and steel on pilings with granite facing. It is 433 ft (132 m) long and 46 ft (14 m) wide. Download coordinates as: [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from the National Park Service Fanne Foxe Annabel Battistella (February 14, 1936 – February 10, 2021), known professionally as Fanne Foxe ,

896-628: 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"

928-629: Was listed as number three in the top 10 U.S. sex scandals by Bloomberg in 2009, and Foxe was listed third on a list of Time magazine's top 10 mistresses. After the Mills incidents, Foxe continued working as a stripper, changing her stage title from "The Argentine Firecracker" to "The Tidal Basin Bombshell". A month after the October 1974 scandal, Bill O'Reilly interviewed her. He recounts that she told him of an interest to attend medical school after two more years of dancing. In summarizing her appearance at

960-622: Was on the Bloomberg list of top 10 U.S. sex scandals. Annabel Edith Villagra was born on February 14, 1936, in Nueve de Julio , a town southwest of Buenos Aires, Argentina. One of three children, her father was Nueve de Julio's medical officer and her mother was a nurse. She grew up enjoying basketball, hunting, and folk dancing. She was a pre-medical student at the University of Buenos Aires , then left at age 20 in 1956 after marrying Eduardo Battistella,

992-463: Was the scene of an incident involving the Chairman of the United States House Committee on Ways and Means , Democratic Congressman Wilbur Mills . At 2:00 a.m. on October 7, 1974, Park police stopped Mills' speeding car, whose driver, Albert G. Gapacini, had not turned on its headlights. Also in the car was an Argentine stripper known as Fanne Foxe . After the police stopped the car, Foxe jumped into

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1024-540: Was worried that the incident would affect her recently acquired American citizenship. The incident attracted much publicity, but Mills was re-elected to his congressional seat in November 1974 . Shortly after the election, Mills attended one of Foxe's burlesque performances at the Pilgrim Theater in Boston. Apparently drunk, Mills showed up and unsteadily walked onstage, prompting Foxe to say "Ladies and gentlemen, I have

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