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Old Post Office Building, c 1910:
Just behind you stands the first federal office building to be erected on Pennsylvania Avenue. Design of the Post Office Building started in 1891, in the late Victorian era. The building was considered out of fashion when it finally opened in 1899.
View Down Tenth Street to the Mall, c 1916:
The government's need for office space and the derelict state of buildings along Pennsylvania Avenue gave Congress incentive to start the Federal Triangle. Entire streetscapes were purchased to make way for buildings like the Smithsonian's new National Museum.
World Columbian Exposition, 1893:
When Chicago hosted America's first major international exposition, the nation's leading architects created a "dream city." Their monumental buildings, rendered in the Beaux Arts classical style, were an instant sensation. |