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Make No Little Plans
Federal Triangle Heritage Trail
14 Equal Justice Under the Law
The roots of America's top law enforcement agency, the Department of Justice, reach back to 1789. That year the first Congress created the Office of the Attorney General to prosecute lawsuits in the Supreme Court and advise the President and the Cabinet on matters of law. In 1870, after the Civil War spurred an increase in lawsuits, Congress created the Department of Justice to address the increasing demands on the attorney general's office. The Department's modern mission is to enforce the laws and defend the interests of the United States, protect the American people against terrorism and other threats to national security, prevent and control crime, seek just punishment for those who break the law, and ensure equal justice for all citizens.
For the Department's first permanent home, Philadelphia architects Clarence C. Zantzinger and Charles I. Borie, Jr., showcased bold yet elegant Art Deco ornamentation. The 20-foot-high night doors just ahead and most of the building's decorative fixtures are made of aluminum instead of traditional bronze. Colorful mosaics by Washingtonian John Joseph Earley adorn entranceway ceilings. C. Paul Jennewein designed 57 interior and exterior sculptural pieces, including the spectacular Art Deco torchières lighting the entrances.
Inside the building are distinctive 1930s-era murals illustrating how law and justice improve American life. Painter George Biddle, one of the artist, had persuaded his friend and schoolmate President Franklin D. Roosevelt to fund public murals. Roosevelt's New Deal went on to commission important works of civic art throughout the Federal Triangle and the nation.
The building was named the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building in 2001 to honor the slain former attorney general. |