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Southwest Federal Center | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Southwest Federal Center within the District of Columbia | |
| Coordinates:38°53′09″N77°00′55″W / 38.885861°N 77.015194°W /38.885861; -77.015194 | |
| Country | United States |
| District | Washington, D.C. |
| Ward | Ward 2 |
| Government | |
| • Councilmember | Brooke Pinto |
| Postal code | |
Southwest Federal Center is a business district inSouthwestWashington, D.C., nearly entirely occupied by offices for various branches of theU.S. Government, including many of the museums of theSmithsonian Institution.
Southwest Federal Center lies between Independence Avenue and theNational Mall immediately to the north, the Southeast-Southwest Freeway (Interstate 395) and the Washington Channel to the south, South Capitol Street to the east, and 15th Street SW to the west.
SeveralU.S. Cabinet Departments have headquarters or large office complexes in the area, including theAgriculture (including the formerCotton Annex and a building dedicated to the Forest Service),Transportation,HUD,Health and Human Services,Education, andEnergy Departments. The most prominent are the Department of Agriculture, which is housed in a neoclassical building complex that lines both sides of Independence Avenue, and the arcing high-rise of HUD, which is characterized by a unique installation of illuminated fiberglass rings in its 7th Street plaza. Additionally,NASA Headquarters is located in a large building at the corner of 4th and E Streets. TheBureau of Engraving and Printing is also located in the Southwest Federal Center area.
The office buildings for theU.S. House of Representatives line Independence Avenue on the south side of theU.S. Capitol; two of these, theRayburn andFord House Office Buildings, are located in Southwest Federal Center (although the Ford building is not actually located on Independence Avenue, but is on 3rd Street between D Street and Virginia Avenue SW).
The Smithsonian museums in Southwest Federal Center include theHirshhorn Museum, theNational Air and Space Museum, and theMuseum of the American Indian, theFreer andSackler galleries, theNational Museum of African Art, and theArts and Industries Building, as well as theSmithsonian Castle that forms the main offices for the Institution. TheUnited States Holocaust Memorial Museum, though not affiliated with the Smithsonian, is also located in the vicinity.
The few non-governmental businesses in the neighborhood include five hotels, St. Dominic's Catholic Church, a few restaurants, a power station for the neighborhood, the First District police station, and commercial spaces (e.g., convenience stores, bank branches, coffee shops, etc.) in the lobbies of the hotels and office buildings. Also,L'Enfant Plaza, a multi-building complex andpromenade that includes both government and civilian offices (as well as an indoor shopping mall), is located off Independence Avenue.
The Southwest Federal Center is served by theSmithsonian andFederal Center SWMetro stations on theOrange,Blue,Silver Lines, and by theL'Enfant Plaza station on theGreen,Yellow,Silver, Orange, and Blue Lines.
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