Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building | |
 Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building in 2008 | |
    | |
| Location | 330Independence Avenue. SW |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38°53′14.64″N77°1′.84″W / 38.8874000°N 77.0169000°W /38.8874000; -77.0169000 |
| Area | 3 acres (1.2 ha) |
| Built | 1939 |
| Architect | Charles Zeller Klauder;Office of the Supervising Architect |
| Architectural style | Egyptian Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 07000639[1] |
| Added to NRHP | July 6, 2007 |
TheWilbur J. Cohen Federal Building is a historic building at 330Independence Avenue,Southwest,Washington, D.C., United States.[2] Originally known as theSocial Security Administration Building, it is recognized for its architecture.
The building was designed byCharles Zeller Klauder and theOffice of the Supervising Architect underLouis A. Simon, in theStripped Classical style in 1939. The building has Egyptian elements as well.[2]
Construction was completed in 1940, but Social Security did not become the building's first occupant.[3] Instead, the threat of war created a need for space for defense agencies, and the building was made available to the War Department and the National Defense Commission. After the war, theFederal Security Agency, under which the Social Security Board had been placed in 1939, moved into the building. In 1953, FSA's successor, the Department ofHealth, Education and Welfare, part of which became the Department of Health and Human Services in 1980, became the primary occupant.[2]Voice of America was headquartered in the building beginning in 1954.[4]
On April 28, 1988, the building was renamed theWilbur J. Cohen Federal Building in honor of the Social Security Board's first professional employee and the former Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare.[5] On July 6, 2007, the building was added to theNational Register of Historic Places.Voice of America (VOA) and theU.S. Agency for Global Media were the building's principal occupants.[2]
In 2020, theGeneral Services Administration notified VOA that the agency would have to leave the building by 2028.[3][6] At the time, VOA's offices there were described as "highly inefficient".[6] Under thesecond presidency of Donald Trump, in May 2025, federal officials agreed to expedite the sale of the building.[7][8] This prompted concerns that the building could be demolished, as the cost of renovations would likely be prohibitive.[3] Preservationists advocated for saving the building's murals, which included works bySeymour Fogel,Philip Guston, andBen Shahn.[9][10]
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This article incorporatespublic domain material fromWilbur J. Cohen Federal Building (SSA), Washington, DC.General Services Administration.