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Washington, D.C., the capital of theUnited States,[1] has a unique and diverse architectural history. Encompassing government, monumental, commercial, and residential buildings, D.C. is home to some of the country's most famous and popular structures designed by some of the leading architects of their time. The popularity of the city's buildings is reflected in the findings of a 2007 poll of Americans by theAmerican Institute of Architects, which found thatsix of the top 10 most popular U.S. structures were located in Washington, D.C. Overall, the poll found, 17 of the top 150 most popular structures were located in the capital.[2]
Due to the city's political and historic importance, the architectural motifs found throughout the city encompass a diverse range of styles. The city is most famous for itsNeoclassical government buildings,monuments, andmemorials. Located mostlyDowntown and along theNational Mall andTidal Basin, these buildings, inspired from ancient Rome and Greece, were designed to capture the power, strength, and grandeur of theU.S. government while honoring the political and philosophical thinkers and leaders upon which many the nation was developed. These structures have large pediments, classical columns, domes, and classical statues and reliefs often made of stone or marble.
Although the city'ssevere height restrictions limit the upward trajectory of its buildings, many architects have contributed to the city's architectural character by intersecting creativity with practicality without surpassing the city's height limits.[3] As such, unlike nearly all large American cities, Washington, D.C. has noskyscrapers. However, the city is home to notable examples of many important architectural movements of the 20th and 21st centuries, most notablyBeaux-Arts,Brutalism, andPostmodernism.
In addition to historic Neoclassical government buildings, monuments, and memorials, Washington, D.C. is also famous for itsmuseums and non-Neoclassically inspired memorials. The city's museums and modern memorials are some of the most visited sites in the United States and have inspired the creation of other architecturally important structures throughout the world.
Washington, D.C. is aplanned city. It was chosen byGeorge Washington as the site for the capital city for the new nation. In 1791, President Washington chose FrenchmanPierre L'Enfant to design the plan for the new city.[4] L'Enfant created theL'Enfant Plan to map out the city's streets. As outlined in the plan, D.C. is a grid city, with streets running east to west and north to south with diagonal roads crossing at certain intervals. TheUnited States Capitol is at the center of the grid, and the point at which the city is divided into four quadrants. Depending on one's relation to the Capitol, one is either inNortheast D.C.,Southeast D.C.,Southwest D.C., orNorthwest D.C. L'Enfant's plan called for thePresident's House and Capitol to be near the center of the city.[5][6]
The City of Washington was largely underdeveloped for decades following its founding, with the exception of government buildings, small neighborhoods, and taverns. Early in the city's founding, a competition was announced to determine the designs for the President's House and the U.S. Capitol.William Thornton, whose design received approval from George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, created the winning design for the Capitol.[7] The design was simpler than other entrants, but spoke to the power and grandeur of the U.S. government with itsNeoclassical construction. Thornton's winning submission was modified by architectsBenjamin Henry Latrobe andCharles Bulfinch.[8] Originally, the dome of the Capitol was a simplerotunda sitting atop aportico, composed of apediment withCorinthian columns, flanked by two wings.
The design for the new President's Mansion was also determined following adesign competition. Irish-AmericanJames Hoban created the winning Neoclassical design. Hoban's White House design was inspired by several European buildings, particularly buildings in France and his native Ireland.[9][10] The southern portico, for example, was inspired by theChâteau de Rastignac in France. Both the White House and Capitol were completed in November 1800.
Through the early- to mid-1800s, much of the city outside central Washington, D.C. remained heavily underdeveloped, but an increasing number ofFederal-style houses and public buildings were being constructed, especially onLafayette Square. AlongPennsylvania Avenue, the diagonal road branching northwest from the Capitol to the White House, more construction was occurring, mostly for journalists covering politics in the city.Newspaper Row, as this area was called, remained an active district for newspaper companies until theNational Press Building was built in 1927 and consolidated many newspapers into one building.[11][12][13]
The mid-1800s saw two landmark architectural projects take shape. In order to account for the growing representation in Congress, the two wings of the Capitol building were expanded. Following this, it was determined that the dome needed to be enlarged as well. The current dome of the building was designed to have a far more intricate pattern than the original and was completed in 1866. The current dome was built incast iron, with an exterior dome sitting on an interior one.[14][15]
Shortly after George Washington's death in 1799, proposals were presented to create a monument in his honor in the capital.[16]Robert Mills created the winning design in 1836, though it was simplified significantly due to increasing costs. Theobelisk design was begun in 1848 and continued until about one-third of the structure was complete in 1854, at which point funding ran out. TheWashington Monument stood in this unfinished state until construction resumed in 1879 and was completed in 1884. At the time of its completion, the Washington Monument was the tallest man-made structure in the world at a height of 555 feet.
The mid- to late-1800s saw manyVictorian homes be built around the city, particularly in theCapitol Hill neighborhood and in Northwest Washington. This period also saw the construction ofRomanesque Revival architecture, including theSmithsonian Institution Building and theArts and Industries Building. TheOld Post Office, also designed in this style, was built on Pennsylvania Avenue in 1899 with the hope that it would transform Washington into a city that could rival European capitals, most notablyLondon andParis, in its architectural prowess. The Old Post Office was the first building in the city to be made of a steel frame and the first to have electrical wiring.
Popular European architectural movements inspired many American buildings throughout the 1800s. One such building was theRenwick Gallery near the White House. It was built between 1859 and 1873, and was created to be Washington, D.C.'s first art museum. The structure was designed in theFrench Second Empire Style by architectJames Renwick Jr., who designed the structure to be a miniature version of theLouvre inParis. So similar were the façades of the two buildings that the Renwick was known as "The American Louvre" upon completion. Unlike the Louvre, however, the Renwick is made ofred brick.
A second notable public building in the city constructed in the French Second Empire Style is theEisenhower Executive Office Building. Sitting directly west of the White House, the building houses much of the president's staff. The structure was designed byAlfred B. Mullett and built between 1871 and 1888. Like many buildings of the Second Empire Style, the Eisenhower Building has numerous columns, windows, and chimneys in symmetrical relation to one another. The unique and radical design in a city used to Neoclassical and more traditional architecture led to it being widely criticized for decades after its completion. The widespread criticism was fueled by the media, which mocked Mullett relentlessly for his design of this and other Second Empire buildings. This public ridicule, combined with severe financial difficulties, led Mullett to commit suicide in Washington in 1890.
The extravagantBeaux-Arts architecture became popular in the late 1800s through the early 1900s, as didGothic Revival. Beaux-Arts buildings in the city include theThomas Jefferson Building of theLibrary of Congress, completed in 1897. This is an example of some of the most elaborate art and architecture of theAmerican Renaissance and captures the ornate elements of the Beaux-Arts motif with elaborate interior designs that are among the richest in the United States. The building contains manybusts andstatues to American political, social, and intellectual leaders inside the main reading room and great hall as well as on the western façade of the building.
Although Gothic Revival architecture was most popular in the 1800s, the most famous Gothic Revival structure in the city—theWashington National Cathedral—was not built until the turn of the 20th century. The building is made of a long nine-baynave, five-baychancel, and six-baytransept. The exterior includes three towers, numerousflying buttresses, andgargoyles. The interior also includes statues andstained glass windows to American political icons, such as George Washington. Although talk of constructing a national cathedral date back to the city's founding, construction was not begun until 1906, and was not complete until 1988.
In the early 1900s, a movement to beautify American cities, known as the "city beautiful movement", led to the construction of new architectural plans for many American cities. TheMcMillan Plan was written in 1902 by the Senate Park Commission in an attempt to beautify Washington, D.C. The plan included a general design for what is now theNational Mall, including the construction of public buildings along the grassy lawns of the mall. The plan called for the elimination of the Victorian-era landscape design of the mall, instead opening it up and allowing pedestrian traffic to easily move east to west. Although the plan was never fully adopted, it was implemented piecemeal in the subsequent decades. The plan succeeded in opening up the mall and extending it westward toward the banks of thePotomac River. It also succeeded in moving public constructions to theTidal Basin. Parts of the plan that were never built include a public garden at the base of the Washington Monument as well as a Neoclassical building across Lafayette Square.
In 1910, theHeight of Buildings Act of 1910 was passed by the61st US Congress to limit the height of buildings in the city. This act was passed following the construction of the 1894Cairo apartment building, which raised concerns that buildings of such height made it difficult to fight a potential building fire. Although the city's height limit has been altered over the years, it remains in place, despite controversy from both architects who claim it limits the possible architectural design of the city's buildings and by those claiming that it increases housing costs.
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Washington Union Station, the city's main train station, opened in 1908. It was designed byDaniel H. Burnham, who used numerous architectural styles to create the structure. The ceiling of the Great Hall is made ofgold leaf symmetrical patterns, while neoclassical elements, such as columns and statues, line the interior and exterior of the building.
TheLincoln Memorial, designed byHenry Bacon, was inaugurated in 1922. Many different proposals for this memorial were presented in various locations across the city. In the end, a Neoclassicaltemple with a large statue of a sittingAbraham Lincoln was chosen to be placed directly west of the Washington Monument. In 1923, areflecting pool was placed between these two structures. TheJefferson Memorial, another Neoclassical temple, was completed in 1943 to honorThomas Jefferson, and was placed on the southern side of the Tidal Basin, directly south of the White House.
Washington's rise as a city of global importance through the mid- to late-1900s coincided with the popularity ofBrutalism, an architectural style noted for its simplicity and use of concrete. As a result, many of the city's government buildings and museums built between the 1950s and 1980s are in the Brutalist motif. Designed byGordon Bunshaft, theHirshhorn Museum on the National Mall is perhaps the most famous of these. This building is a perfectly symmetrical circular concrete structure with an internal courtyard. Designed byHarry Weese, the interior ceiling of theWashington Metro is also constructed in the Brutalist style. The first of these underground stations opened in 1976.
Modernism andPostmodernism grew in popularity in the latter half of the 1900s. Defined by flat surfaces that play with light and shadow, numerous Modernist buildings exist in central Washington, including a coupleSmithsonian museums. Both theNational Air and Space Museum as well as theNational Museum of American History include elements of Modernism in their designs. Famed Modernist architectI.M. Pei designed the East Building of theNational Gallery of Art along the mall as well as the pyramids in its courtyard. Another notable Modernist building is theKennedy Center for the Performing Arts, designed byEdward Durell Stone and completed in 1971 along the banks of the Potomac River.
TheVietnam Veterans Memorial, designed byMaya Lin, is a stripped-down, minimalist memorial in-line with Modernist architecture that opened in 1982. This memorial seeks to focus the attention of theVietnam War not on the complicated and unpopular political decisions taken during the conflict, but rather on the people who died in combat. As such, the memorial is a simple dog-leg wall made of reflective stone upon which are engraved the names of those who died in the war. TheKorean War Veterans Memorial, which opened in 1995, similarly includes a reflective wall, though with images of soldiers, as well as statues representing soldiers walking through fields.
Contemporary architecture has been built throughout the city in the 21st century. The most notable locations where this architecture has taken root includeDowntown (includingCityCenterDC),Navy Yard,Buzzard Point, andthe Wharf. A growth in residential apartments as well as shops and restaurants in these dense areas has allowed for the construction of contemporary buildings with glass and metal façades that have more dynamic designs common of 21st-century architecture found in many major cities.
Neoclassical architecture revivedclassical Greek andclassical Roman architecture by emphasizing the construction ofcolumns in the classical order,domes,pediments,obelisks, and buildings made of stone. New technology and altering tastes, however, allowed Neoclassical structures to surpass the size and engineering complexity of its classical predecessors. Due to the close affiliation of classical architecture with ancient political ideology as well as with power and strength, this style is popular among important government buildings across the world.
This is Washington's most recognizable architectural style. Many of the city's most prominent and historic government buildings, memorials, monuments, and museums are built in the Neoclassical motif. Many of these buildings are located on theNational Mall and theTidal Basin. Among these buildings are theWhite House,United States Capitol, theWashington Monument, the West Building of theNational Gallery of Art, theLincoln Memorial, and theJefferson Memorial.
Other notable buildings built in the Neoclassical style are theTreasury Building, located immediately east of the White House, theUnited States Supreme Court Building located immediately east of the Capitol,Farmers and Mechanics Bank inGeorgetown, theDuke Ellington School of the Arts in Georgetown, theOld Patent Office Building inChinatown,DAR Constitution Hall locatedDowntown, theJamie L. Whitten Building off the National Mall, and the many government buildings inFederal Triangle, including theAndrew W. Mellon Auditorium and theNational Archives Building.
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Federal architecture traces its roots to theFederalist Era ofAmerican history. With the oldest examples of Federal architecture being constructed in the 18th century, this architectural style is found mostly in the oldest neighborhoods in the city, such asGeorgetown andLafayette Square. Federal architecture is defined by plain surfaces and facades with a limited use ofpilasters. Some federal-style building combine the simple brick-basedGeorgian architecture with elements of classical design, such ascolumns andpediments. Most, however, lack these classically inspired elements and are simpler in design.
Examples of Federal buildings in the city include theCutts-Madison House on Lafayette Square, theBlair House on Lafayette Square, theCity Tavern in Georgetown,Dumbarton Oaks in Georgetown, theThomas Law House on theSouthwest Waterfront,St. John's Episcopal Church off Lafayette Square, theBenjamin Ogle Tayloe House on Lafayette Square,the Octagon House inFoggy Bottom, thePetersen House locatedDowntown, and theMary E. Surratt Boarding House inChinatown.
Victorian residential architecture is present and recognizable in many of D.C.'s neighborhoods, most notablyCapitol Hill,Columbia Heights,Dupont Circle,Shaw,LeDroit Park, andAdams Morgan. Built during the mid- to late-19th century, these structures are characterized as being tall, narrow, and often brightly painted rowhouses, with aturreted, spired, orconical roof and anEnglish basement. TheQueen Anne style, which is an architectural design within the wider Victorian style, is extremely common in these and other neighborhoods in the city. Common features of Queen Anne architecture include colorful and asymmetricfaçades, overhangingeaves,dentils, andoriel orbay windows.
Tudor Revival architecture is an architectural style inspired by originalTudor architecture, which was popular during theTudor period inGreat Britain, between 1485 and 1603. Common attributes of this architectural style includetimber framing,millioned windows,jettied floors, and sometimesthatched roofs.
This style of architecture is popular in some residential neighborhoods in Washington, most notablyGeorgetown,Foxhall Village,Kalorama, andMount Pleasant.
Romanesque Revival architecture, also called Neo-Romanesque, is an architectural style inspired by the 11th- and 12th-centuryRomanesque Architecture and uses castle-like designs, such asbattlements, heavy usage of masonry (such as stone or brick), and pronouncedarches and towers.
Romanesque revival was a popular architectural style for the city's buildings built in the mid- to late-19th century. Many of the city's Romanesque Revival buildings are made ofsandstone. Examples of apartment buildings in this style areThe Cairo Apartment Building inDupont Circle, theLuzon Apartment Building in theWest End, theGladstone and Hawarden Apartment Buildings inLogan Circle, and theJefferson Apartment Building inMount Vernon Triangle. TheOld Post Office Building, constructed in 1899 and locatedDowntown, is also built in this style and was the first building in the city to be constructed with a steel frame structure. Churches in D.C. that are built in the Romanesque Revival style include theFranciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America inBrookland, theBasilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception inUniversity Heights, andSt. Aloysius Church inNear Northeast. Additionally, theCharles Sumner School near theGolden Triangle and theArts and Industries Building on theNational Mall are in this style. TheSmithsonian Institution Building, also known as "the castle", is located on the National Mall and incorporates elements of both Romanesque Revival and Gothic Revival styles into its architecture.
Gothic Revival architecture, also called Neo-Gothic, is an architectural style that revives traditionalGothic architecture but with the benefit of modern technology and tastes. As is the case with traditional Gothic architecture, buildings constructed in the Gothic Revival motif are often churches, cathedrals, and buildings used to house a large congregation of people. These structures often include tallbell towers andspires, and are made of stone. Other elements of this architecture include heavy decorative patterns,gargoyles,flying buttresses,finials,lancet windows, andhood molds.
Many of the most prominent Gothic revival buildings in Washington, D.C. are churches and cathedrals built from the end of the 19th century through the middle of the 20th century. Notable Neo-Gothic buildings include theWashington National Cathedral inCathedral Heights,Immaculate Conception Church nearMount Vernon Square, theNational Presbyterian Church in Cathedral Heights,St. Elizabeths Hospital nearCongress Heights,Alban Towers onEmbassy Row, and theCastle Gatehouse of the Washington Aqueduct nearFoxhall Village.
Popularized in Europe in the 19th century,Beaux-Arts architecture arrived in the U.S. in the latter decades of the 19th century and continued into the 20th century in many of the country's larger east coast cities. This architectural school is defined by the ornate elements of bold, overscaled details both on the exterior and interior of buildings. Characteristics of Beaux-Arts architecture include arusticated first floor, arched windows, and classical details, such asbalustrades,pilasters, andfestoons.
This style is common for hotels and some government buildings built in the city between the 1880s and 1930s. Some examples of Beaux-Arts buildings in D.C. are theEmbassy of Uzbekistan onEmbassy Row, theWyoming Apartments inKalorama, theCarnegie Library of Washington D.C. inMount Vernon Square, theMain Interior Building inFoggy Bottom, theThomas Jefferson Building of theLibrary of Congress onCapitol Hill, theBond Building locatedDowntown, theAndrew Mellon Building on Embassy Row, and theWillard Hotel located Downtown.
Brutalist architecture was popularized in the mid-20th century and is defined by stripped-downminimalist designs that depict the barebuilding materials andstructural elements of buildings, in contrast with the more decorative elements found in preceding architectural styles. Brutalism often uses symmetry and abstract shapes to depict general ideas while playing with light and shadow.[17][18] Many brutalist structures are made of unpaintedconcrete orbrick, with angledgeometric shapes.[19][18][20]
Brutalism is present throughout Washington, D.C., but is especially visible in the city's central neighborhoods, most notablyDowntown, theNational Mall, andSouthwest Washington. Due to the fact that Brutalism's height in popularity intersected with a major construction boom as Washington was becoming one of the world's most important cities during the third quarter of the 1900s, many of the city's prominent museums, government buildings, and office buildings built between the 1950s and 1980s were built in the Brutalist style.
Examples of such buildings are theHirshhorn Museum on the National Mall, theJames V. Forrestal Building in Southwest D.C., theWashington Hilton nearKalorama, theRobert C. Weaver Federal Building in Southwest D.C., and theJ. Edgar Hoover Building located Downtown. Additionally, the interior ceilings of theWashington Metro are built with a brutalist design, characterized by low lighting, symmetry, and abstract rectangular shapes made of concrete slabs.[21]
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Modernist architecture is a style that, similar to Brutalism, embracesminimalism and rejects the decorative elements of more traditional architectural movements. Unlike Brutalism, however, this movement emphasizes the use of glass and metal to create iconic shapes and lead the viewers eye around the structure. This school leans on the notion thatform follows function.
Among the most famous buildings in Washington built under the Modernist school is the East Building of theNational Gallery of Art on theNational Mall. Designed byI.M. Pei, this building has a flat façade and high atrium that allows light to flow into the center hallways of the museum. Additionally, the exterior courtyard connecting this building with the museum's West Building includes several glass pyramids. These pyramids served as the inspiration for thepyramids I.M. Pei would later design to sit in front of theLouvre Museum inParis. Other buildings that have Modernist elements include theNational Museum of American History and theNational Air and Space Museum, both on the National Mall. Also, theKennedy Center for the Performing Arts inFoggy Bottom, theMetropolitan Community Church of Washington, D.C. in theMount Vernon Square neighborhood as well as theWatergate Complex, located immediately north of the Kennedy Center, are Modernist buildings.
Postmodern architecture is a broadly defined architectural style that emphasizes the use of glass, large windows, and generally greater variety ofform than Modernism allowed for. Because of the broad definition of this type of architecture, many buildings built in Washington, D.C., in the latter decades of the 20th century through recent years can be said to be Postmodern. Among these buildings are the headquarters of theInternational Finance Corporation nearFoggy Bottom, theEmbassy of Spain in theWest End, theWorld Bank Group headquarters building locatedDowntown, and theEmbassy of Canada near theCapitol.
Contemporary architecture is a wide-ranging architectural category prominent in the 21st century. Although no single style dominates this motif, contemporary architecture generally uses large glass panes and intricate, often asymmetric form to depict abstract concepts or themes. Many of the residential and office buildings constructed in Washington in the 2010s and 2020s around places such asCityCenterDC,Navy Yard,the Wharf, and throughout theDowntown portions of the city are contemporary in design, with glass and metal façades. Examples of contemporary architecture include the renovation ofArena Stage on theSouthwest Waterfront, the translucent canopy over the Kogod courtyard of theOld Patent Office Building inChinatown, the Embassy of Sweden and Iceland (known as theHouse of Sweden) inGeorgetown, and the building housing theInternational Spy Museum inL'Enfant Plaza.
American Craftsman-type houses became popular in the D.C. area in the 20th century. These are most commonly found inCleveland Park,Sixteenth Street Heights, and the Maryland suburbs ofKensington andTakoma Park.
In addition to the city's historic government buildings, Washington is best known for its numerous monuments and memorials. These structures have been built in various architectural styles and are scattered throughout the city, though many are located on theNational Mall andTidal Basin. TheLincoln Memorial andJefferson Memorial are both noted examples ofNeoclassicaltemples, and are two of the most recognizable architectural structures in the city. Each temple has a statue of their respective figure. Thestatue of Abraham Lincoln, designed byDaniel Chester French, is inGeorgia marble, while the statue ofThomas Jefferson, designed byRudulph Evans, is in bronze. TheWashington Monument is a large Neoclassical obelisk at the center of the National Mall in honor of the country's first president,George Washington. Inside the monument's western alcove is a bronze statue of Washington. TheWorld War II Memorial sits at the eastern end of theLincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and was designed with elements of Neoclassical architecture, particularly in the arched towers representing the states and territories during the conflict.
Famous memorials in more modern architectural styles include theVietnam Veterans Memorial and theKorean War Veterans Memorial, both on the mall. TheFranklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial along the Tidal Basin is designed to tell the story of Roosevelt's presidency. TheMartin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the Tidal Basin includes a large statue of King walking out of a stone, representing his quote "Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope" delivered during his 1963 "I Have a Dream Speech" at the Lincoln Memorial.
Washington, D.C. has many bridges that cross its rivers, thePotomac andAnacostia, as well as bridges allowing for pedestrian and vehicular traffic to travel over land obstacles. Many of the city's historic bridges, such as theTaft Bridge inRock Creek Park, theDuke Ellington Bridge in Rock Creek Park, theKey Bridge over the Potomac, and theArlington Memorial Bridge, also over the Potomac, are Neoclassical bridges with large arches made of heavy stone. TheFrederick Douglass Memorial Bridge across the Anacostia was originally opened in 1950 as aswing bridge, but was recreated and reopened in 2021 as athrough arch bridge. TheWoodrow Wilson Bridge, which touches the southern tip of the city across the Potomac, is a double-leafbascule bridge (or drawbridge). The Arlington Memorial Bridge also has a central bascule which can open to allow river traffic to cross.Boulder Bridge is a historicMelan-style stone bridge in Rock Creek Park.
Other bridges in the city are less artistically detailedgirder orbeam bridges, such as theTheodore Roosevelt Bridge over the Potomac and the11th Street Bridges over the Anacostia. TheLong Bridge is a railroadtruss bridge that takes rail traffic between Washington andVirginia across the Potomac.
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