Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site
Encyclopedia
Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site is a National Historic Site
in the city of Washington, D.C.
Established on September 30, 1965, the site is roughly bounded by Constitution Avenue
, 15th Street NW, F Street NW, and 3rd Street NW. The historic district includes a number of culturally, aesthetically, and historically significant structures and places, including Pennsylvania Avenue NW
from the White House
to the United States Capitol
, the Treasury Building
, Freedom Plaza
, Federal Triangle
, Ford's Theatre
, the Old Patent Office Building
, the Old Pension Office Building (which now houses the National Building Museum
), Judiciary Square, and the Peace Monument
.
Pennsylvania Avenue, the heart of the historic site, is recognized by many as "America's Main Street." The avenue plays a significant part in American political culture as well. "Since its creation in the head of L'Enfant, from the time Jefferson planted Lombardy poplars along its edge, this has been the most important avenue in Washington," noted author Jeffrey F. Meyer. "It is the corridor of power, linking the legislative, judicial, and executive branches." Professor of architecture Michael J. Bednar, commenting on the role the avenue plays in the nation's political life, has written, "A march down Pennsylvania Avenue...brings high visibility and prestige to a group and its cause." Historian Lucy G. Barber, who has studied the site's political meaning, has called it one of the "central and most potent national spaces of the nation."
tribe of Native Americans
occupied the northeastern banks of the Potomac River
, although no permanent settlements are known in the area now encompassed by the city of Washington. After seizure of the land by European settlers, David Burns obtained the first title to the area which would become Pennsylvania Avenue NW in 1774.
Article One, Section 8
, of the United States Constitution
established a "District...[to] become the seat of the government of the United States..." The Residence Act
of 1790 (as amended), established this district and gave to the President of the United States
the authority to fix the location of the site somewhere along the Potomac River. President George Washington
chose the current site of the city in 1791, and it was surveyed later that year. At the time, it was not foreseen that the city of Washington would be coterminous with the District of Columbia, and Washington set the northern boundary of the city roughly where Pennsylvania Avenue is today. Washington chose Pierre Charles L'Enfant
to plan the new city. Although unnamed at the time, Pennsylvania Avenue was designed in the L'Enfant plan as a critical thoroughfare for bringing existing roads into the heart of the new city. It was also designed to link the "president's palace" with the Capitol building planned for Jenkin's Hill (now Capitol Hill
).
Pennsylvania Avenue was created on April 14, 1792, when the three commissioners then overseeing the District of Columbia ordered "the middle of the avenue from the president's palace to the capitol" cleared. The origin of the name "Pennsylvania Avenue" is somewhat obscure. The name was first applied to the avenue in a letter from surveyor
and map-maker Benjamin Ellicott
to the District's commissioners in December 1791.
The actual clearing of Pennsylvania Avenue did not begin until spring 1796. Much of Pennsylvania Avenue below 9th Street was swampy and nearly unusable, as Tiber Creek
curved north to border the avenue at 9th Street and again at 5th and 4th Streets before actually crossing it at 2nd Street. The damp earned the street the nickname of the "Great Serbonian Bog." (This marshy area was filled in and dried beginning in 1816.) In the fall of 1800, Pennsylvania Avenue was cleared of underbrush, and a 6 feet (1.8 m) raised footpath covered in stone chips was built. A stone bridge over Tiber Creek at 2nd Street was also built during this time, being replaced by a brick arch in 1817. On March 3, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson
ordered that Pennsylvania Avenue be widened and the road completed. Benjamin Henry Latrobe, the architect newly-hired to supervise the avenue's reconstruction, built three lanes separated by four rows of Black Poplar
s.
Additional improvements to the street were made throughout the 19th century: The avenue was macadam
ized in 1832 (and the poplars removed), repaved with round stones in 1852, and repaved with wooden blocks from 1st to 15th Streets in 1870. The wooden blocks required such extensive repair, however, that between 1876 and 1877 they were replaced with rock from 1st to 6th Streets NW, and with grahamite asphalt
from 6th to 15th Streets NW. The avenue was repaved in 1890 and again in 1907.
) on Pennsylvania Avenue in the spring and summer of 1794 at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue NW and 22nd Street NW, and another seven similar buildings were erected about the same time by General Walter Stewart. The "Six Buildings" erected by Greenleaf served as the first headquarters of the United States Department of State
and the United States Department of the Navy
in 1800, while one of the buildings across the street housed the United States Department of War
. Two of the city's first three street lamps were established in the area near Capitol Hill in December 1801. Center Market, the city's first food market, was built the same year on a lot on the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue between 7th and 8th Streets. It became the hub of the city's early commercial district. Over time, the business district moved north, but its southern boundary continued to be marked by Pennsylvania Avenue. Center Market moved a block west along Pennsylvania Avenue to larger, more modern facilities in 1872. The second inauguration of Thomas Jefferson, which occurred on March 4, 1805, was the first to host an inaugural procession down Pennsylvania Avenue. The city's first school, the Western School, opened on the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue between 17th and 18th Streets NW in January 1806. The city's first sewer pipe was laid under Pennsylvania Avenue in 1829. By 1835, Pennsylvania Avenue was largely lined by two- to four-story
Federalist
row houses. The Baltimore and Potomac Railroad converted a house at the corner of 2nd Street NW and Pennsylvania Avenue into the city's first train station. It was abandoned in 1851 when the station moved to a more long-lasting location at New Jersey Avenue and C Street NW. The same year, the National Theatre opened on December 7. It was followed by the 400-seat Odeon in 1846, the 1,000-set Adelphi in 1847, and Metzerott Hall in the 1860s. President Andrew Jackson
approved the construction of the Treasury Building
in 1836 (it was completed the following year), but the size and height of the building forced a rerouting of Pennsylvania Avenue and blocked the view of the White House from L'Enfant's "Grand Avenue." The city's first stock brokerage was opened by William W. Corcoran at 15th and Pennsylvania Avenue in 1837. The city blocks where the National Gallery of Art
now stands became a fashionable residential area in the 1830s.
In the 1860s, the area saw significant deterioration despite continuing improvements to Pennsylvania Avenue itself. Pennsylvania Avenue was lit with coal gas
streetlights in 1851. The avenue was one of the few fully lit streets in the entire city of Washington. In July 1862, a horse-drawn trolley
line was built along the street between the Capitol and White House. But despite these many improvements, much of the Pennsylvania Avenue Historic Site south of Pennsylvania Avenue had become a disreputable slum known as Murder Bay, the home to an extensive criminal underclass and numerous brothels. During the American Civil War
, so many prostitutes took up residence in Murder Bay to serve the needs of General Joseph Hooker
's Army of the Potomac
that the area became known as "Hooker's Division." The two trapezoidal blocks sandwiched between Pennsylvania and Missouri Avenues (now the site of the National Gallery of Art) became home to such expensive brothel
s that it gained the nickname "Marble Alley." In the 1870s and 1880s, the avenue was the site of significant competition between horse-drawn streetcar and chariot companies. Pennsylvania Avenue saw its first electric streelights give light on October 14, 1881. A small number of additional lights north of the avenue along 10th Street NW were lit later that month.
The southern part of the Pennsylvania Avenue district was flooded many times in the last three decades of the 19th century. Major floods occurred in October 1870 (during which Chain Bridge was destroyed), February 1881, November 1887, and June 1889 (the same storm which caused the Johnstown Flood
). Floodwaters were high enough that rowboats were used on the avenue, and horse-drawn streetcars saw water reach the bottom of the trams.
Washington's first Chinatown
emerged on the northern edge of the Murder Bay section of the historic site. D.C.'s Chinatown
was established in 1884, although Chinese and other Asian immigrants began moving into the area in noticeable numbers as early as 1880. This Chinatown existed along the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue between 4th and 7th Streets, with the heaviest concentration of residences and businesses near the Center Market site where 4th Street, C Street, and Pennsylvania Avenue met. This Chinatown existed as a vibrant community until 1935, when the construction of the National Archives Building and the Apex Building
(which houses the Federal Trade Commission
) forced the Chinatown to move to its current location on H Street NW.
Although the area south of Pennsylvania Avenue NW was notorious for its crime and brothels, an 1892 guide book
to the city recommended Pennsylvania Avenue and the surrounding streets as one of the few sites to see in Washington, D.C.
Limited attempts to transform the area by eliminating crime and encouraging upscale economic development occurred from 1890 to 1910. Congress approved the construction of a new, 12-story Romanesque Revival
headquarters for the Post Office Department
(to include a new central post office for the District of Columbia as well) in 1880. The building was designed to spur economic development in Murder Bay. Construction on the Post Office Building
began in 1892 and was completed in 1899. At the time of its completion, the Post Office Building contained the largest uninterrupted enclosed space in the city. It was also the city's first building to have a steel frame structure, and the first to be built with electrical wiring incorporated into its design. Unfortunately, the anticipated economic development never occurred. In 1899, the Washington Board of Trade
, a local organization of business leaders, proposed clearing Murder Bay of its existing structures and building government office buildings in the area. Spurred by the centennial of the transfer of the seat of government from Philadelphia to the District of Columbia, in 1900 the United States Congress
formed the Senate Park Commission (also known as the "McMillan Commission" after its chair, Senator James McMillan) to reconcile competing visions for the development of Washington, D.C., and especially Pennsylvania Avenue, the National Mall
, and nearby areas. The Commission's plan for development, the McMillan Plan
, proposed beautifying Pennsylvania Avenue and placing new government office buildings along a new "Centennial Avenue" to run the length of the National Mall.
The District Building
was built in 1908 between 13 1/2 and 14th Streets NW on the south side of the avenue.
Over the next few years, the President and Congress established several new agencies to supervise the approval, design, and construction of new buildings in the District of Columbia: The Commission of Fine Arts
in 1910 (to approve the design of new structures), the Public Buildings Commission in 1916 (to make recommendations regarding the housing of federal agencies and offices), and the National Capital Parks and Planning Commission
in 1924 (to oversee planning for the District). In the mid-1910s, Congress appropriated and the government spent $7 million to acquire land on Pennsylvania Avenue NW between 14th and 15th Streets NW and several blocks south. But no demolition or construction was conducted, and the government merely collected rent from tenants in the area. In 1924, the Public Buildings Commission recommended that a new series of federal office buildings be built near the White House
. The effort saw success in 1926 with the passage by the United States Congress
of the Public Buildings Act, which authorized the construction of the Federal Triangle complex of buildings as well as a new U.S. Supreme Court
building opposite the United States Capitol
, a major extension of the U.S. Government Printing Office
building on North Capitol Street
, and significant widening of B Street NW on the north side of the National Mall (eventually renamed Constitution Avenue
). The construction of Federal Triangle enabled the Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site to become the "monumental core" of the city.
noticed the dilapidated condition of the street when his inaugural procession traversed Pennsylvania Avenue in 1961. Kennedy established the Ad Hoc Committee on Federal Office Space to recommend new structures to accommodate the growing federal government (which had constructed almost no new office buildings in the city since the Great Depression). Assistant Secretary of Labor Daniel Patrick Moynihan
was assigned to help staff the committee. But in writing the Ad Hoc Committee's final report, Moynihan went beyond the committee's mandate and proposed (in part) that Pennsylvania Avenue be redeveloped using the powers of the federal government.
Kennedy approved of the idea, and established an informal "President's Council on Pennsylvania Avenue" to draw up a plan. The initial proposal, by architect Nathaniel A. Owings
, envisioned a number of massive mixed-use
buildings on the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue to complement Federal Triangle but which would also include theaters, restaurants, shops, condominiums, and apartments. The plan called for E Street NW to be buried and turned into a cross-town expressway, a major new plaza to anchor the avenue's west end, new plazas north and south of the National Archives, and a new reflecting pool for the base of Capitol Hill. The plan also envisioned that the proposed National Cultural Center (created by law in 1958) would be situated on the north side of the avenue (on the site of Chase's Theater and Riggs Building
), but the location was later changed to the Foggy Bottom neighborhood and it was renamed the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
.
The plan was ready for review and presentation to Congressional leaders when Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963. A few days after President Kennedy's funeral, President Lyndon B. Johnson
met with Jacqueline Kennedy
in the Oval Office
and asked what he could do for her. Mrs. Kennedy requested two things: That Cape Canaveral
be renamed for her husband, and that the Pennsylvania Avenue redevelopment plan move forward. Word of the request leaked to the public, and Johnson publicly supported the area's redevelopment on October 24, 1964. Johnson subsequently approved the establishment of a Temporary President's Commission on Pennsylvania Avenue (composed of Cabinet
members, federal planners, architects, and others) to move the plan forward, although it did not hold its first meeting until May 21, 1965. The Temporary Commission's goal was to push for a permanent body with the legal authority to engage in condemnation and force public and private bodies to conform to its plans. Before the Temporary Commission was named, District of Columbia officials agreed to abandon plans to build an office building west of the District Building, and the FBI agreed to reorient its planned headquarters more squarely with Pennsylvania Avenue.
Redevelopment of the area north of Pennsylvania Avenue became one of Secretary of the Interior
Stewart Udall
's highest priorities. The plan called for demolition of most of the existing structures north of Pennsylvania Avenue, but exercise of the government's powers of eminent domain
would require (it was believed) creating a special designation for the area. In January 1965, the government proposed putting the entire area envisioned for redevelopment under the control of the National Park Service
. According to historian Robert M. Utley
, Secretary Udall and architect Nathaniel Owings drew the boundaries of the Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site according to the needs of Owing's plan. Further investigation, however, revealed that the Historic Sites Act
of 1935 required a study of the area's national significance and a finding by the National Park System Advisory Board. Utley, then an Interior Department historian, was summoned to make these findings, but advised Udall that the Historic Sites Act was intended to preserve (not tear down) old buildings and that the drawings of the site's boundaries would have to follow the historical findings rather than define them. When Utley was advised that Udall was unhappy with his assessment, Utley quickly backtracked. Utley quickly assembled a panel of historians and produced as much research on the area within the Owings boundaries as he could. Although the Utley panel found that much of historical significance had occurred within the Owings boundaries and that a number of historic buildings still existed within the proposed site, there was little to support designation of the area as a historic district. Nonetheless, the advisory board ignored this weakness in the study, and approved the designation of the historic site.
The avenue and several surrounding blocks were designated a national historic site on September 30, 1965. After the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966
, the site was added to the National Register of Historic Places
on October 15, 1966.
, counsel to President Johnson, kept the Pennsylvania Avenue redevelopment plan alive and shepherded it through additional revisions. Nonetheless, rejuvenation of Pennsylvania Avenue and the area north of the street began occurring as early as 1965, even though no permanent redevelopment authority had yet been established. The first building to be developed under the 1964 master plan was 451 12th Street NW
(at the site of the old Raleigh Hotel). The Brutalist style
structure was designed by Edmund W. Dreyfuss & Associates, which worked closely with John Woodbridge (a staff architect for the President's Council on Pennsylvania Avenue and a member of the firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill).
On March 25, 1965, President Johnson issued Executive Order No. 11210, which established the Temporary Commission on Pennsylvania Avenue. The Temporary Commission was charged with analyzing the engineering, financial, planning, and other relevant considerations essential to ensuring the adoption and implementation of the 1964 master plan, as well as recommending appropriate legislation to the President and Congress. The Temporary Commission was also instructed to coordinate its efforts with the National Capital Planning Commission
's master plan for the city. The Temporary Commission was an interim measure designed to ensure that no buildings incompatible with the plan were built until legislation regarding the master plan was passed. Although certain aspects of the master plan were controversial among some groups, the District of Columbia enacted zoning changes to permit mixed-used development and buildings which conformed to the Owings plan in April 1965. Construction of the first private building under the master plan, 451 12th Street NW, began in August 1965. Legislation to make the Temporary Commission permanent and give it extensive powers was introduced in October 1965, but strong opposition to the proposed National Plaza emerged and hindered passage of the bill. The size of the plaza remained intact into late 1967, and a large new arts and office building (to be built between 11th and 13th Streets NW on E Street NW) was proposed.
After two years, Congress had still not acted to establish a permanent Pennsylvania Avenue Commission, so President Johnson issued Executive Order 11347 to extend the life of the Temporary Commission on Pennsylvania Avenue by another two years. The lack of redevelopment began to have repercussions for existing businesses on the avenue. Faced with repeated threats to its existence and lower occupancy due to competition and anti-Vietnam War
protests on Pennsylvania Avenue, the Willard Hotel closed suddenly on July 15, 1968. The Temporary Commission struggled to obtain any redevelopment along Pennsylvania Avenue. Local landowners refused to made investments so long as their property remained subject to condemnation. The Temporary Commission subsequently scaled the size of National Plaza down to half its original size, and began seeking private development dollars to build the square and associated buildings. In October 1969, still stymied by the lack of movement on any redevelopment, the Temporary Commission agreed (at the urging of member Elwood R. Quesada
, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the L'Enfant Plaza Corporation) to seek $200 million in private financing to build several luxury apartment buildings on the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue. The Temporary Commission ceased to function on November 15, 1969, due to lack of funds.
Moynihan, however, was now Counselor to the President for Urban Affairs in the Nixon
administration in 1969, where he continued to provide leadership on the rejuvenation of Pennsylvania Avenue. Moynihan now proposed a major shift in the redevelopment plan: Rather than funding redevelopment solely with federal funds, he suggested creating a government-owned corporation
with a $200 million revolving fund to spur redevelopment along Pennsylvania Avenue. Interested in seeing some redevelopment occur before the Bicentennial celebrations
in 1976, Congress took up Moynihan's plan in August 1970. But extensive controversy still raged over many aspects of the plan, as well as Nathaniel Owings' role in redevelopment plans. President Nixon made a daytime walking tour of Pennsylvania Avenue on September 8, 1970, and expressed his support for the Moynihan plan. But the bill, opposed by local housing advocates and businessmen as well as budget-conscious legislators, stalled in Congress for two years. In early 1972, Nixon once more signaled his strong support for the bill as a Bicentennial measure. In April, Democratic
Representative
Wayne N. Aspinall
, chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources, and Republican
Rep. John P. Saylor
, the committee's ranking minority member, co-sponsored a bill which provided for a 15-member commission advised by a committee of landlords and tenants from the affected area. The master plan created by the new commission would have to be reviewed by Secretary of the Interior and relevant D.C. government agencies before being submitted to Congress, which would have 60 days to disapprove the plan by a majority vote of either house. The legislation authorized the new corporation to spend up to $1 million preparing a master plan, and authorized it to borrow up to $50 million from the Treasury
or private sources to fund redevelopment. Congress approved the revised bill in October 1972, President Nixon signed the bill into law on October 30, 1972.
The Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation (PADC) was created on April 17, 1973. President Nixon named Elwood Quesada the PADC's first chairman, and the corporation's board of directors had its first meeting in June. The revised Owings plan for redevelopment was immediately called into question by John Woodbridge, the PADC's new staff director and an architect in Owings' firm. Upset with the way the massive, Brutalist-style J. Edgar Hoover Building
disrupted foot traffic and retail trade along Pennsylvania Avenue, the PADC instead proposed a much stronger emphasis on retail and housing in the new master plan. Among the earliest projects it approved was Market Square, a mixed-use development on the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue NW between 7th and 9th Streets NW that contained housing as well as retail areas and included space for a new memorial. The PADC laid out its preliminary plan for redevelopment by March 1974, and approved its final plan in October 1974. The Willard Hotel, Old Post Office Pavilion, and other historic buildings on Pennsylvania Avenue were retained and the underground expressway removed from the plan.
The PADC asked Congress to appropriate $111 million for land acquisition, landscaping, and other needs. The plan saw yet further revisions during this period, reducing the size of the buildings along the north side of the avenue, reducing the size of the proposed western plaza, and allowing for greater variety of buildings and usage. In March 1977, Congress provided the first $29 million in funding and borrowing authority for the PADC to begin its work. Landscaping and widening of the sidewalks began in the fall of 1977, and rerouting of traffic began as construction on the new western plaza, Freedom Plaza
, was undertaken. The following year, staff began working on two development prospectuses: one for the Willard and adjacent properties, and the other for the properties surrounding the National Press Club Building.
Over the next two decades, the PADC persuaded private corporations to invest more than $1.5 billion in executing the master plan. The PADC also funded the improvement of public spaces, redesigning the appearance of Pennsylvania Avenue and building seven new plazas. Among the changes made were alterations in lighting and benches, which may now be removed to accommodate inaugrual parades and other large events and marches.
The Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation was dissolved in 1996.
A number of these historic events have been assassinations or funerals. President
Abraham Lincoln
was assassinated at Ford's Theatre
in 1865. President James A. Garfield was shot in the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad Passenger Terminal on July 2, 1881, by Charles J. Guiteau
; he died 79 days later on September 19. Prior to its designation as a historic site, six presidential funeral processions had traversed Pennsylvania Avenue, the last being President John F. Kennedy
's in 1963.
The site has also been the location of major military celebrations. In May 1865, the Army of the Potomac
and the Army of the Tennessee
marched along Pennsylvania Avenue in a "Grand Review" before newly-sworn President Andrew Johnson
in celebration of the end of the American Civil War
. More than 200,000 soldiers passed in review. The procession was so massive it took two full days for both armies to pass. Admiral
George Dewey
, hero of the Battle of Manila Bay
during the Spanish-American War
, also led a parade up the avenue in 1899 after the United States' victory in that conflict. General John J. Pershing
led the American Expeditionary Force
in review up Pennsylvania Avenue in 1919 after the conclusion of World War I
.
The area has also been the site of several important political protests. A protest march of 400 unemployed workers led by the populist
Jacob Coxey occurred on Pennsylvania Avenue on April 30, 1894. The group became known as Coxey's Army
, and this march was both the first significant popular protest march on Washington and also the first to receive national news coverage. On March 3, 1913, Alice Paul
and led the National American Woman Suffrage Association
(a women's rights organization and precursor to the League of Women Voters
) in a parade up Pennsylvania Avenue in which they demanded the right to vote. The association was the largest and most important organization in the fight for women's suffrage in the United States. The march was a critical event in the successful fight for the right to vote. The women's rights march was strongly opposed by government officials, so when the association won the right to march it set a precedent under which almost any group could march on Pennsylvania Avenue. This precedent was exercised 12 years later. On August 7, 1925, about 40,000 members of the Ku Klux Klan
marched on Pennsylvania Avenue. The march signified the height of the Klan's power in the United States, even as it was about to lose much of its strength.
Another major demonstration on the avenue led to tragedy. In June 1932, thousands of homeless World War I
veterans, their families, and their supporters occupied the recently-condemned assemblage of buildings at the Federal Triangle construction site between 6th and 9th Streets NW as part of the Bonus March
on the capital to win better veterans' benefits. When the "Bonus Army" was granted the right to march down Pennsylvania Avenue, it transformed the protestors in the eyes of most Americans from rabble-rousers to patriots seeking fairness. On July 28, 1932, President Herbert Hoover
ordered General Douglas MacArthur
to remove the Bonus Army from the site. At 4:45 p.m., MacArthur led a battalion of infantry, a squadron of cavalry, and six battle tank
s (commanded by Major George S. Patton
) down Pennsylvania Avenue to remove the Bonus Army. More than 20,000 civil service workers (leaving their offices for the day) watched as the U.S. Army attacked its own veterans. A Bonus marcher was killed on the site of the Apex Building, and the Federal Triangle site was cleared of the Bonus Army.
The site carries such importance that on occasion the mere threat of a march down Pennsylvania Avenue has been able to secure political change.
For example, in 1941 the labor
and civil rights leader A. Phillip Randolph proposed a march on Washington, D.C.
, by 100,000 African American men to pressure the United States government into establishing protections against discrimination. President Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to persuade Randolph to call off the march, worried it would harm defense mobilization, but Randolph refused. Roosevelt subsequently issued Executive Order 8802
, which established the Fair Employment Practices Committee and banned discrimination in defense contracts. The march was called off. Historian Andrew E. Kersten has called Randolph's March on Washington "the most significant nonevent in American history."
and political commentators often use the mile-and-a-half (2.4 kilometres) length of Pennsylvania Avenue as a metaphor for the political gulf which sometimes exist between the President's and Congress' policy priorities. It has also been used as a metaphor for the separation of powers under the United States Constitution
. The area is also seen as a political synonym for the seat of government as well as the White House
. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
, for example, was often called "the sphinx of Pennsylvania Avenue."
National Historic Sites (United States)
National Historic Sites are protected areas of national historic significance in the United States. A National Historic Site usually contains a single historical feature directly associated with its subject...
in the city of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Established on September 30, 1965, the site is roughly bounded by Constitution Avenue
Constitution Avenue
In Washington, D.C., Constitution Avenue is a major east-west street running just north of the United States Capitol in the city's Northwest and Northeast quadrants...
, 15th Street NW, F Street NW, and 3rd Street NW. The historic district includes a number of culturally, aesthetically, and historically significant structures and places, including Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Pennsylvania Avenue
Pennsylvania Avenue is a street in Washington, D.C. that joins the White House and the United States Capitol. Called "America's Main Street", it is the location of official parades and processions, as well as protest marches...
from the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
to the United States Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
, the Treasury Building
Treasury Building (Washington, D.C.)
The Treasury Building in Washington, D.C. is a National Historic Landmark building which is the headquarters of the United States Department of the Treasury....
, Freedom Plaza
Freedom Plaza
Freedom Plaza, originally known as Western Plaza, is an open plaza in Northwest Washington, D.C., United States, located at the corner of 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, adjacent to Pershing Park. Constructed in 1980, the plaza is mostly composed of stone, inlaid with a depiction of parts...
, Federal Triangle
Federal Triangle
The Federal Triangle is a triangular area in Washington, D.C. formed by 15th Street NW, Constitution Avenue NW, Pennsylvania Avenue NW, and E Street NW. Federal Triangle is occupied by 10 large city and federal office buildings, all of which are part of the Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic...
, Ford's Theatre
Ford's Theatre
Ford's Theatre is a historic theater in Washington, D.C., used for various stage performances beginning in the 1860s. It is also the site of the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865...
, the Old Patent Office Building
Old Patent Office Building
The historic Old Patent Office Building in Washington, D.C. covers an entire city block defined by F and G Streets and 7th and 9th Streets NW in Chinatown. After undergoing extensive renovations, the building reopened on July 1, 2006 and was renamed The Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art...
, the Old Pension Office Building (which now houses the National Building Museum
National Building Museum
The National Builders Museum, in Washington, D.C., United States, is a museum of "architecture, design, engineering, construction, and urban planning"...
), Judiciary Square, and the Peace Monument
Peace Monument
The Peace Monument, also known as the Naval Monument or Civil War Sailors Monument, stands on the grounds of the United States Capitol in Peace Circle at First Street, N.W., and Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C. The 44 foot high white marble memorial was erected in 1877-1878 to commemorate...
.
Pennsylvania Avenue, the heart of the historic site, is recognized by many as "America's Main Street." The avenue plays a significant part in American political culture as well. "Since its creation in the head of L'Enfant, from the time Jefferson planted Lombardy poplars along its edge, this has been the most important avenue in Washington," noted author Jeffrey F. Meyer. "It is the corridor of power, linking the legislative, judicial, and executive branches." Professor of architecture Michael J. Bednar, commenting on the role the avenue plays in the nation's political life, has written, "A march down Pennsylvania Avenue...brings high visibility and prestige to a group and its cause." Historian Lucy G. Barber, who has studied the site's political meaning, has called it one of the "central and most potent national spaces of the nation."
Construction of Pennsylvania Avenue
Prior to the settlement of the area by European colonists, the PiscatawayPiscataway Indian Nation
The Piscataway Indian Nation and Tayac Territory is an unrecognized Native American tribe in Maryland that is related to the historic Piscataway tribe. At the time of European encounter, the Piscataway was one of the most populous and powerful Native polities of the Chesapeake Bay region, with a...
tribe of Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
occupied the northeastern banks of the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
, although no permanent settlements are known in the area now encompassed by the city of Washington. After seizure of the land by European settlers, David Burns obtained the first title to the area which would become Pennsylvania Avenue NW in 1774.
Article One, Section 8
Enumerated powers
The enumerated powers are a list of items found in Article I, section 8 of the US Constitution that set forth the authoritative capacity of the United States Congress. In summary, Congress may exercise the powers that the Constitution grants it, subject to explicit restrictions in the Bill of...
, of the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
established a "District...
Residence Act
The Residence Act of 1790, officially titled An Act for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of the Government of the United States, is the United States federal law that settled the question of locating the capital of the United States, selecting a site along the Potomac River...
of 1790 (as amended), established this district and gave to the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
the authority to fix the location of the site somewhere along the Potomac River. President George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
chose the current site of the city in 1791, and it was surveyed later that year. At the time, it was not foreseen that the city of Washington would be coterminous with the District of Columbia, and Washington set the northern boundary of the city roughly where Pennsylvania Avenue is today. Washington chose Pierre Charles L'Enfant
Pierre Charles L'Enfant
Pierre Charles L'Enfant was a French-born American architect and civil engineer best known for designing the layout of the streets of Washington, D.C..-Early life:...
to plan the new city. Although unnamed at the time, Pennsylvania Avenue was designed in the L'Enfant plan as a critical thoroughfare for bringing existing roads into the heart of the new city. It was also designed to link the "president's palace" with the Capitol building planned for Jenkin's Hill (now Capitol Hill
Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.
Capitol Hill, aside from being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues...
).
Pennsylvania Avenue was created on April 14, 1792, when the three commissioners then overseeing the District of Columbia ordered "the middle of the avenue from the president's palace to the capitol" cleared. The origin of the name "Pennsylvania Avenue" is somewhat obscure. The name was first applied to the avenue in a letter from surveyor
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
and map-maker Benjamin Ellicott
Benjamin Ellicott
Benjamin Ellicott was a U.S. Representative from New York.Born at Ellicotts Mills, Maryland, Ellicott accompanied his brothers in 1789 to upper Canada on the survey to determine the western boundary of the State of New York. He was employed as a surveyor and draftsman for the Holland Land Co. in...
to the District's commissioners in December 1791.
The actual clearing of Pennsylvania Avenue did not begin until spring 1796. Much of Pennsylvania Avenue below 9th Street was swampy and nearly unusable, as Tiber Creek
Tiber Creek
Tiber Creek or Tyber Creek was a tributary of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.Originally known as Goose Creek, it was renamed after Rome's Tiber River as the lands southeast of then Georgetown, Maryland, were selected for the City of Washington, the new capital of the United States...
curved north to border the avenue at 9th Street and again at 5th and 4th Streets before actually crossing it at 2nd Street. The damp earned the street the nickname of the "Great Serbonian Bog." (This marshy area was filled in and dried beginning in 1816.) In the fall of 1800, Pennsylvania Avenue was cleared of underbrush, and a 6 feet (1.8 m) raised footpath covered in stone chips was built. A stone bridge over Tiber Creek at 2nd Street was also built during this time, being replaced by a brick arch in 1817. On March 3, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
ordered that Pennsylvania Avenue be widened and the road completed. Benjamin Henry Latrobe, the architect newly-hired to supervise the avenue's reconstruction, built three lanes separated by four rows of Black Poplar
Black Poplar
Populus nigra, the black poplar, is a species of cottonwood poplar, the type species of section Aigeiros of the genus Populus, native to Europe, southwest and central Asia, and northwest Africa....
s.
Additional improvements to the street were made throughout the 19th century: The avenue was macadam
Macadam
Macadam is a type of road construction pioneered by the Scotsman John Loudon McAdam in around 1820. The method simplified what had been considered state-of-the-art at that point...
ized in 1832 (and the poplars removed), repaved with round stones in 1852, and repaved with wooden blocks from 1st to 15th Streets in 1870. The wooden blocks required such extensive repair, however, that between 1876 and 1877 they were replaced with rock from 1st to 6th Streets NW, and with grahamite asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
from 6th to 15th Streets NW. The avenue was repaved in 1890 and again in 1907.
Growing development of the Pennsylvania Avenue district
The historic site saw limited growth prior to the 1850s, although a number of "firsts" also occurred in the area. James Greenleaf, an early land speculator in the city, erected the first buildings (six row housesTerraced house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace house, terrace, row house, linked house or townhouse is a style of medium-density housing that originated in Great Britain in the late 17th century, where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls...
) on Pennsylvania Avenue in the spring and summer of 1794 at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue NW and 22nd Street NW, and another seven similar buildings were erected about the same time by General Walter Stewart. The "Six Buildings" erected by Greenleaf served as the first headquarters of the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
and the United States Department of the Navy
United States Department of the Navy
The Department of the Navy of the United States of America was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, to provide a government organizational structure to the United States Navy and, from 1834 onwards, for the United States Marine Corps, and when directed by the President, of the...
in 1800, while one of the buildings across the street housed the United States Department of War
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
. Two of the city's first three street lamps were established in the area near Capitol Hill in December 1801. Center Market, the city's first food market, was built the same year on a lot on the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue between 7th and 8th Streets. It became the hub of the city's early commercial district. Over time, the business district moved north, but its southern boundary continued to be marked by Pennsylvania Avenue. Center Market moved a block west along Pennsylvania Avenue to larger, more modern facilities in 1872. The second inauguration of Thomas Jefferson, which occurred on March 4, 1805, was the first to host an inaugural procession down Pennsylvania Avenue. The city's first school, the Western School, opened on the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue between 17th and 18th Streets NW in January 1806. The city's first sewer pipe was laid under Pennsylvania Avenue in 1829. By 1835, Pennsylvania Avenue was largely lined by two- to four-story
Storey
A storey or story is any level part of a building that could be used by people...
Federalist
Federal architecture
Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. This style shares its name with its era, the Federal Period. The name Federal style is also used in association with furniture design...
row houses. The Baltimore and Potomac Railroad converted a house at the corner of 2nd Street NW and Pennsylvania Avenue into the city's first train station. It was abandoned in 1851 when the station moved to a more long-lasting location at New Jersey Avenue and C Street NW. The same year, the National Theatre opened on December 7. It was followed by the 400-seat Odeon in 1846, the 1,000-set Adelphi in 1847, and Metzerott Hall in the 1860s. President Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
approved the construction of the Treasury Building
Treasury Building (Washington, D.C.)
The Treasury Building in Washington, D.C. is a National Historic Landmark building which is the headquarters of the United States Department of the Treasury....
in 1836 (it was completed the following year), but the size and height of the building forced a rerouting of Pennsylvania Avenue and blocked the view of the White House from L'Enfant's "Grand Avenue." The city's first stock brokerage was opened by William W. Corcoran at 15th and Pennsylvania Avenue in 1837. The city blocks where the National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
now stands became a fashionable residential area in the 1830s.
In the 1860s, the area saw significant deterioration despite continuing improvements to Pennsylvania Avenue itself. Pennsylvania Avenue was lit with coal gas
Coal gas
Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made by the destructive distillation of coal containing a variety of calorific gases including hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane and volatile hydrocarbons together with small quantities of non-calorific gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen...
streetlights in 1851. The avenue was one of the few fully lit streets in the entire city of Washington. In July 1862, a horse-drawn trolley
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
line was built along the street between the Capitol and White House. But despite these many improvements, much of the Pennsylvania Avenue Historic Site south of Pennsylvania Avenue had become a disreputable slum known as Murder Bay, the home to an extensive criminal underclass and numerous brothels. During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, so many prostitutes took up residence in Murder Bay to serve the needs of General Joseph Hooker
Joseph Hooker
Joseph Hooker was a career United States Army officer, achieving the rank of major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Although he served throughout the war, usually with distinction, Hooker is best remembered for his stunning defeat by Confederate General Robert E...
's Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
that the area became known as "Hooker's Division." The two trapezoidal blocks sandwiched between Pennsylvania and Missouri Avenues (now the site of the National Gallery of Art) became home to such expensive brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
s that it gained the nickname "Marble Alley." In the 1870s and 1880s, the avenue was the site of significant competition between horse-drawn streetcar and chariot companies. Pennsylvania Avenue saw its first electric streelights give light on October 14, 1881. A small number of additional lights north of the avenue along 10th Street NW were lit later that month.
The southern part of the Pennsylvania Avenue district was flooded many times in the last three decades of the 19th century. Major floods occurred in October 1870 (during which Chain Bridge was destroyed), February 1881, November 1887, and June 1889 (the same storm which caused the Johnstown Flood
Johnstown Flood
The Johnstown Flood occurred on May 31, 1889. It was the result of the catastrophic failure of the South Fork Dam situated upstream of the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, USA, made worse by several days of extremely heavy rainfall...
). Floodwaters were high enough that rowboats were used on the avenue, and horse-drawn streetcars saw water reach the bottom of the trams.
Washington's first Chinatown
Chinatown
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
emerged on the northern edge of the Murder Bay section of the historic site. D.C.'s Chinatown
Chinatown, Washington, D.C.
Chinatown in Washington, D.C., is a small, historic neighborhood east of downtown consisting of about 20 ethnic Chinese and other Asian restaurants and small businesses along H and I Streets between 5th and 8th Streets, Northwest. It is known for its annual Chinese New Year festival and parade and...
was established in 1884, although Chinese and other Asian immigrants began moving into the area in noticeable numbers as early as 1880. This Chinatown existed along the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue between 4th and 7th Streets, with the heaviest concentration of residences and businesses near the Center Market site where 4th Street, C Street, and Pennsylvania Avenue met. This Chinatown existed as a vibrant community until 1935, when the construction of the National Archives Building and the Apex Building
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
(which houses the Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
) forced the Chinatown to move to its current location on H Street NW.
Although the area south of Pennsylvania Avenue NW was notorious for its crime and brothels, an 1892 guide book
Guide book
A guide book is a book for tourists or travelers that provides details about a geographic location, tourist destination, or itinerary. It is the written equivalent of a tour guide...
to the city recommended Pennsylvania Avenue and the surrounding streets as one of the few sites to see in Washington, D.C.
Romanesque Revival architecture
Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...
headquarters for the Post Office Department
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
(to include a new central post office for the District of Columbia as well) in 1880. The building was designed to spur economic development in Murder Bay. Construction on the Post Office Building
Old Post Office Pavilion
The Old Post Office Pavilion, also known as Old Post Office and Clock Tower and officially renamed the Nancy Hanks Center in 1983, is a building of the United States federal government. Built in 1892-99, it is located at 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue , NW, in Washington, D.C...
began in 1892 and was completed in 1899. At the time of its completion, the Post Office Building contained the largest uninterrupted enclosed space in the city. It was also the city's first building to have a steel frame structure, and the first to be built with electrical wiring incorporated into its design. Unfortunately, the anticipated economic development never occurred. In 1899, the Washington Board of Trade
Greater Washington Board of Trade
The Greater Washington Board of Trade is a network of business and non-profit leaders in Washington, D.C.Since its creation in 1889, the Greater Washington Board of Trade has provided advocacy, research, and programs for the area's business community...
, a local organization of business leaders, proposed clearing Murder Bay of its existing structures and building government office buildings in the area. Spurred by the centennial of the transfer of the seat of government from Philadelphia to the District of Columbia, in 1900 the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
formed the Senate Park Commission (also known as the "McMillan Commission" after its chair, Senator James McMillan) to reconcile competing visions for the development of Washington, D.C., and especially Pennsylvania Avenue, the National Mall
National Mall
The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service , and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...
, and nearby areas. The Commission's plan for development, the McMillan Plan
McMillan Plan
The McMillan Plan was an architectural plan for the development of Washington, D.C., formulated in 1902 by the Senate Park Improvement Commission of the District of Columbia which had been formed by Congress the previous year.-United States Park Commission:...
, proposed beautifying Pennsylvania Avenue and placing new government office buildings along a new "Centennial Avenue" to run the length of the National Mall.
John A. Wilson Building
The John A. Wilson Building, popularly known simply as the Wilson Building or the JAWB, houses the offices and chambers of the Mayor and Council of the District of Columbia. Originally called the District Building, it was renamed in 1994 to commemorate former Council Chair John A. Wilson...
was built in 1908 between 13 1/2 and 14th Streets NW on the south side of the avenue.
Over the next few years, the President and Congress established several new agencies to supervise the approval, design, and construction of new buildings in the District of Columbia: The Commission of Fine Arts
United States Commission of Fine Arts
The United States Commission of Fine Arts , established in 1910 by an act of Congress, is an advisory agency of the Federal government.The CFA is mandated to review and provide advice on "matters of design and aesthetics", involving federal projects and planning in Washington, D.C...
in 1910 (to approve the design of new structures), the Public Buildings Commission in 1916 (to make recommendations regarding the housing of federal agencies and offices), and the National Capital Parks and Planning Commission
National Capital Planning Commission
The National Capital Planning Commission is a U.S. government agency that provides planning guidance for Washington, D.C. and the surrounding National Capital Region...
in 1924 (to oversee planning for the District). In the mid-1910s, Congress appropriated and the government spent $7 million to acquire land on Pennsylvania Avenue NW between 14th and 15th Streets NW and several blocks south. But no demolition or construction was conducted, and the government merely collected rent from tenants in the area. In 1924, the Public Buildings Commission recommended that a new series of federal office buildings be built near the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. The effort saw success in 1926 with the passage by the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
of the Public Buildings Act, which authorized the construction of the Federal Triangle complex of buildings as well as a new U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
building opposite the United States Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
, a major extension of the U.S. Government Printing Office
United States Government Printing Office
The United States Government Printing Office is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States federal government. The office prints documents produced by and for the federal government, including the Supreme Court, the Congress, the Executive Office of the President, executive...
building on North Capitol Street
North Capitol Street
North Capitol Street is a street in Washington, D.C. that separates the Northwest and Northeast quadrants of the city. The street begins at D Street due north of the United States Capitol and continues northward 4½ miles to Nicholson Street where it is interrupted by Fort Slocum Park and the...
, and significant widening of B Street NW on the north side of the National Mall (eventually renamed Constitution Avenue
Constitution Avenue
In Washington, D.C., Constitution Avenue is a major east-west street running just north of the United States Capitol in the city's Northwest and Northeast quadrants...
). The construction of Federal Triangle enabled the Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site to become the "monumental core" of the city.
Historic designation and rejuvenation
By the 1950s, Pennsylvania Avenue was marked by deteriorating homes, shops, and office buildings on the north side and monumental Neoclassical federal office buildings on the south side. President John F. KennedyJohn F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
noticed the dilapidated condition of the street when his inaugural procession traversed Pennsylvania Avenue in 1961. Kennedy established the Ad Hoc Committee on Federal Office Space to recommend new structures to accommodate the growing federal government (which had constructed almost no new office buildings in the city since the Great Depression). Assistant Secretary of Labor Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Daniel Patrick "Pat" Moynihan was an American politician and sociologist. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected to the United States Senate for New York in 1976, and was re-elected three times . He declined to run for re-election in 2000...
was assigned to help staff the committee. But in writing the Ad Hoc Committee's final report, Moynihan went beyond the committee's mandate and proposed (in part) that Pennsylvania Avenue be redeveloped using the powers of the federal government.
Kennedy approved of the idea, and established an informal "President's Council on Pennsylvania Avenue" to draw up a plan. The initial proposal, by architect Nathaniel A. Owings
Nathaniel A. Owings
Nathaniel Alexander Owings was an American architect, a founding partner of Skidmore Owings and Merrill , which became one of the largest architectural firms in the United States and the world. Owings viewed skyscrapers as his firm's specialty...
, envisioned a number of massive mixed-use
Mixed-use development
Mixed-use development is the use of a building, set of buildings, or neighborhood for more than one purpose. Since the 1920s, zoning in some countries has required uses to be separated. However, when jobs, housing, and commercial activities are located close together, a community's transportation...
buildings on the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue to complement Federal Triangle but which would also include theaters, restaurants, shops, condominiums, and apartments. The plan called for E Street NW to be buried and turned into a cross-town expressway, a major new plaza to anchor the avenue's west end, new plazas north and south of the National Archives, and a new reflecting pool for the base of Capitol Hill. The plan also envisioned that the proposed National Cultural Center (created by law in 1958) would be situated on the north side of the avenue (on the site of Chase's Theater and Riggs Building
Chase's Theater and Riggs Building
The Chase's Theater and Riggs Building, also known as the Keith-Albee Theater is an historic building located at 1426 G Street and 615-627 15th Street, Northeast, Washington, D.C., in the Downtown neighborhood.-History:...
), but the location was later changed to the Foggy Bottom neighborhood and it was renamed the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center located on the Potomac River, adjacent to the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C...
.
The plan was ready for review and presentation to Congressional leaders when Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963. A few days after President Kennedy's funeral, President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
met with Jacqueline Kennedy
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...
in the Oval Office
Oval Office
The Oval Office, located in the West Wing of the White House, is the official office of the President of the United States.The room features three large south-facing windows behind the president's desk, and a fireplace at the north end...
and asked what he could do for her. Mrs. Kennedy requested two things: That Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral, from the Spanish Cabo Cañaveral, is a headland in Brevard County, Florida, United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic coast. Known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated from it by the Banana River.It is part of a region known as the...
be renamed for her husband, and that the Pennsylvania Avenue redevelopment plan move forward. Word of the request leaked to the public, and Johnson publicly supported the area's redevelopment on October 24, 1964. Johnson subsequently approved the establishment of a Temporary President's Commission on Pennsylvania Avenue (composed of Cabinet
United States Cabinet
The Cabinet of the United States is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, which are generally the heads of the federal executive departments...
members, federal planners, architects, and others) to move the plan forward, although it did not hold its first meeting until May 21, 1965. The Temporary Commission's goal was to push for a permanent body with the legal authority to engage in condemnation and force public and private bodies to conform to its plans. Before the Temporary Commission was named, District of Columbia officials agreed to abandon plans to build an office building west of the District Building, and the FBI agreed to reorient its planned headquarters more squarely with Pennsylvania Avenue.
Redevelopment of the area north of Pennsylvania Avenue became one of Secretary of the Interior
United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
Stewart Udall
Stewart Udall
Stewart Lee Udall was an American politician. After serving three terms as a congressman from Arizona, he served as Secretary of the Interior from 1961 to 1969, under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B...
's highest priorities. The plan called for demolition of most of the existing structures north of Pennsylvania Avenue, but exercise of the government's powers of eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
would require (it was believed) creating a special designation for the area. In January 1965, the government proposed putting the entire area envisioned for redevelopment under the control of the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
. According to historian Robert M. Utley
Robert M. Utley
Robert Marshall Utley is an author and historian who has written sixteen books on the history of the American West. He was a former chief historian of the National Park Service. Fellow historians commend Utley as the finest historian of the American frontier in the 19th century.The Western History...
, Secretary Udall and architect Nathaniel Owings drew the boundaries of the Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site according to the needs of Owing's plan. Further investigation, however, revealed that the Historic Sites Act
Historic Sites Act
The Historic Sites Act of 1935 was enacted by the United States Congress largely to organize the myriad federally-own parks, monuments, and historic sites under the National Park Service and the United States Secretary of the Interior...
of 1935 required a study of the area's national significance and a finding by the National Park System Advisory Board. Utley, then an Interior Department historian, was summoned to make these findings, but advised Udall that the Historic Sites Act was intended to preserve (not tear down) old buildings and that the drawings of the site's boundaries would have to follow the historical findings rather than define them. When Utley was advised that Udall was unhappy with his assessment, Utley quickly backtracked. Utley quickly assembled a panel of historians and produced as much research on the area within the Owings boundaries as he could. Although the Utley panel found that much of historical significance had occurred within the Owings boundaries and that a number of historic buildings still existed within the proposed site, there was little to support designation of the area as a historic district. Nonetheless, the advisory board ignored this weakness in the study, and approved the designation of the historic site.
The avenue and several surrounding blocks were designated a national historic site on September 30, 1965. After the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966
National Historic Preservation Act of 1966
The National Historic Preservation Act is legislation intended to preserve historical and archaeological sites in the United States of America...
, the site was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on October 15, 1966.
Rejuvenation
Moynihan left public service (temporarily) in 1965, and Harry McPhersonHarry McPherson
Harry C. McPherson, Jr. served as counsel and special counsel to President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson from 1965 to 1969 and was Johnson’s chief speechwriter from 1966 to 1969. McPherson’s A Political Education, 1972, is a classic insider’s view of Washington and an essential source for...
, counsel to President Johnson, kept the Pennsylvania Avenue redevelopment plan alive and shepherded it through additional revisions. Nonetheless, rejuvenation of Pennsylvania Avenue and the area north of the street began occurring as early as 1965, even though no permanent redevelopment authority had yet been established. The first building to be developed under the 1964 master plan was 451 12th Street NW
1111 Pennsylvania Avenue
1111 Pennsylvania Avenue is a high-rise Postmodern skyscraper located in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It is tall, has 14 stories, and has a four-story underground parking garage...
(at the site of the old Raleigh Hotel). The Brutalist style
Brutalist architecture
Brutalist architecture is a style of architecture which flourished from the 1950s to the mid 1970s, spawned from the modernist architectural movement.-The term "brutalism":...
structure was designed by Edmund W. Dreyfuss & Associates, which worked closely with John Woodbridge (a staff architect for the President's Council on Pennsylvania Avenue and a member of the firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill).
On March 25, 1965, President Johnson issued Executive Order No. 11210, which established the Temporary Commission on Pennsylvania Avenue. The Temporary Commission was charged with analyzing the engineering, financial, planning, and other relevant considerations essential to ensuring the adoption and implementation of the 1964 master plan, as well as recommending appropriate legislation to the President and Congress. The Temporary Commission was also instructed to coordinate its efforts with the National Capital Planning Commission
National Capital Planning Commission
The National Capital Planning Commission is a U.S. government agency that provides planning guidance for Washington, D.C. and the surrounding National Capital Region...
's master plan for the city. The Temporary Commission was an interim measure designed to ensure that no buildings incompatible with the plan were built until legislation regarding the master plan was passed. Although certain aspects of the master plan were controversial among some groups, the District of Columbia enacted zoning changes to permit mixed-used development and buildings which conformed to the Owings plan in April 1965. Construction of the first private building under the master plan, 451 12th Street NW, began in August 1965. Legislation to make the Temporary Commission permanent and give it extensive powers was introduced in October 1965, but strong opposition to the proposed National Plaza emerged and hindered passage of the bill. The size of the plaza remained intact into late 1967, and a large new arts and office building (to be built between 11th and 13th Streets NW on E Street NW) was proposed.
After two years, Congress had still not acted to establish a permanent Pennsylvania Avenue Commission, so President Johnson issued Executive Order 11347 to extend the life of the Temporary Commission on Pennsylvania Avenue by another two years. The lack of redevelopment began to have repercussions for existing businesses on the avenue. Faced with repeated threats to its existence and lower occupancy due to competition and anti-Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
protests on Pennsylvania Avenue, the Willard Hotel closed suddenly on July 15, 1968. The Temporary Commission struggled to obtain any redevelopment along Pennsylvania Avenue. Local landowners refused to made investments so long as their property remained subject to condemnation. The Temporary Commission subsequently scaled the size of National Plaza down to half its original size, and began seeking private development dollars to build the square and associated buildings. In October 1969, still stymied by the lack of movement on any redevelopment, the Temporary Commission agreed (at the urging of member Elwood R. Quesada
Elwood Richard Quesada
Elwood Richard "Pete" Quesada, CB, CBE was a United States Air Force General, FAA administrator, and, later, a club owner in Major League Baseball.-Early years:...
, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the L'Enfant Plaza Corporation) to seek $200 million in private financing to build several luxury apartment buildings on the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue. The Temporary Commission ceased to function on November 15, 1969, due to lack of funds.
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
administration in 1969, where he continued to provide leadership on the rejuvenation of Pennsylvania Avenue. Moynihan now proposed a major shift in the redevelopment plan: Rather than funding redevelopment solely with federal funds, he suggested creating a government-owned corporation
Government-owned corporation
A government-owned corporation, state-owned company, state-owned entity, state enterprise, publicly owned corporation, government business enterprise, or parastatal is a legal entity created by a government to undertake commercial activities on behalf of an owner government...
with a $200 million revolving fund to spur redevelopment along Pennsylvania Avenue. Interested in seeing some redevelopment occur before the Bicentennial celebrations
United States Bicentennial
The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to the historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic...
in 1976, Congress took up Moynihan's plan in August 1970. But extensive controversy still raged over many aspects of the plan, as well as Nathaniel Owings' role in redevelopment plans. President Nixon made a daytime walking tour of Pennsylvania Avenue on September 8, 1970, and expressed his support for the Moynihan plan. But the bill, opposed by local housing advocates and businessmen as well as budget-conscious legislators, stalled in Congress for two years. In early 1972, Nixon once more signaled his strong support for the bill as a Bicentennial measure. In April, Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Wayne N. Aspinall
Wayne N. Aspinall
Wayne Norviel Aspinall was a lawyer and politician from Colorado. He is largely known for his tenure in the United States House of Representatives, serving as a Democrat from 1949-1973 from Colorado’s Fourth District. Aspinall became known for his direction of the House Interior and Insular...
, chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources, and Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Rep. John P. Saylor
John P. Saylor
John Phillips Saylor was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.Saylor was born in Conemaugh Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1929, and Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle,...
, the committee's ranking minority member, co-sponsored a bill which provided for a 15-member commission advised by a committee of landlords and tenants from the affected area. The master plan created by the new commission would have to be reviewed by Secretary of the Interior and relevant D.C. government agencies before being submitted to Congress, which would have 60 days to disapprove the plan by a majority vote of either house. The legislation authorized the new corporation to spend up to $1 million preparing a master plan, and authorized it to borrow up to $50 million from the Treasury
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
or private sources to fund redevelopment. Congress approved the revised bill in October 1972, President Nixon signed the bill into law on October 30, 1972.
The Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation (PADC) was created on April 17, 1973. President Nixon named Elwood Quesada the PADC's first chairman, and the corporation's board of directors had its first meeting in June. The revised Owings plan for redevelopment was immediately called into question by John Woodbridge, the PADC's new staff director and an architect in Owings' firm. Upset with the way the massive, Brutalist-style J. Edgar Hoover Building
J. Edgar Hoover Building
The J. Edgar Hoover Building is located in Washington, D.C. It is the headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation . The building, named for former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, is located at 935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. The building received its official name, the J. Edgar Hoover F.B.I...
disrupted foot traffic and retail trade along Pennsylvania Avenue, the PADC instead proposed a much stronger emphasis on retail and housing in the new master plan. Among the earliest projects it approved was Market Square, a mixed-use development on the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue NW between 7th and 9th Streets NW that contained housing as well as retail areas and included space for a new memorial. The PADC laid out its preliminary plan for redevelopment by March 1974, and approved its final plan in October 1974. The Willard Hotel, Old Post Office Pavilion, and other historic buildings on Pennsylvania Avenue were retained and the underground expressway removed from the plan.
The PADC asked Congress to appropriate $111 million for land acquisition, landscaping, and other needs. The plan saw yet further revisions during this period, reducing the size of the buildings along the north side of the avenue, reducing the size of the proposed western plaza, and allowing for greater variety of buildings and usage. In March 1977, Congress provided the first $29 million in funding and borrowing authority for the PADC to begin its work. Landscaping and widening of the sidewalks began in the fall of 1977, and rerouting of traffic began as construction on the new western plaza, Freedom Plaza
Freedom Plaza
Freedom Plaza, originally known as Western Plaza, is an open plaza in Northwest Washington, D.C., United States, located at the corner of 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, adjacent to Pershing Park. Constructed in 1980, the plaza is mostly composed of stone, inlaid with a depiction of parts...
, was undertaken. The following year, staff began working on two development prospectuses: one for the Willard and adjacent properties, and the other for the properties surrounding the National Press Club Building.
Over the next two decades, the PADC persuaded private corporations to invest more than $1.5 billion in executing the master plan. The PADC also funded the improvement of public spaces, redesigning the appearance of Pennsylvania Avenue and building seven new plazas. Among the changes made were alterations in lighting and benches, which may now be removed to accommodate inaugrual parades and other large events and marches.
The Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation was dissolved in 1996.
Important events occurring at the site
Several events of national importance in American history have occurred within the boundaries of the Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site. Pennsylvania Avenue in particular is the focal point for a great many politically important parades and protests.A number of these historic events have been assassinations or funerals. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
was assassinated at Ford's Theatre
Ford's Theatre
Ford's Theatre is a historic theater in Washington, D.C., used for various stage performances beginning in the 1860s. It is also the site of the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865...
in 1865. President James A. Garfield was shot in the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad Passenger Terminal on July 2, 1881, by Charles J. Guiteau
Charles J. Guiteau
Charles Julius Guiteau was an American lawyer who assassinated U.S. President James A. Garfield. He was executed by hanging.- Background :...
; he died 79 days later on September 19. Prior to its designation as a historic site, six presidential funeral processions had traversed Pennsylvania Avenue, the last being President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
's in 1963.
The site has also been the location of major military celebrations. In May 1865, the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
and the Army of the Tennessee
Army of the Tennessee
The Army of the Tennessee was a Union army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, named for the Tennessee River. It should not be confused with the similarly named Army of Tennessee, a Confederate army named after the State of Tennessee....
marched along Pennsylvania Avenue in a "Grand Review" before newly-sworn President Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
in celebration of the end of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. More than 200,000 soldiers passed in review. The procession was so massive it took two full days for both armies to pass. Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
George Dewey
George Dewey
George Dewey was an admiral of the United States Navy. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War...
, hero of the Battle of Manila Bay
Battle of Manila Bay (1898)
The Battle of Manila Bay took place on 1 May 1898, during the Spanish-American War. The American Asiatic Squadron under Commodore George Dewey engaged and destroyed the Spanish Pacific Squadron under Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasarón...
during the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
, also led a parade up the avenue in 1899 after the United States' victory in that conflict. General John J. Pershing
John J. Pershing
John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing, GCB , was a general officer in the United States Army who led the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I...
led the American Expeditionary Force
American Expeditionary Force
The American Expeditionary Forces or AEF were the United States Armed Forces sent to Europe in World War I. During the United States campaigns in World War I the AEF fought in France alongside British and French allied forces in the last year of the war, against Imperial German forces...
in review up Pennsylvania Avenue in 1919 after the conclusion of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
The area has also been the site of several important political protests. A protest march of 400 unemployed workers led by the populist
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
Jacob Coxey occurred on Pennsylvania Avenue on April 30, 1894. The group became known as Coxey's Army
Coxey's Army
Coxey's Army was a protest march by unemployed workers from the United States, led by the populist Jacob Coxey. They marched on Washington D.C. in 1894, the second year of a four-year economic depression that was the worst in United States history to that time. Officially named the Army of the...
, and this march was both the first significant popular protest march on Washington and also the first to receive national news coverage. On March 3, 1913, Alice Paul
Alice Paul
Alice Stokes Paul was an American suffragist and activist. Along with Lucy Burns and others, she led a successful campaign for women's suffrage that resulted in the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920.-Activism: Alice Paul received her undergraduate education from...
and led the National American Woman Suffrage Association
National American Woman Suffrage Association
The National American Woman Suffrage Association was an American women's rights organization formed in May 1890 as a unification of the National Woman Suffrage Association and the American Woman Suffrage Association...
(a women's rights organization and precursor to the League of Women Voters
League of Women Voters
The League of Women Voters is an American political organization founded in 1920 by Carrie Chapman Catt during the last meeting of the National American Woman Suffrage Association approximately six months before the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution gave women the right to vote...
) in a parade up Pennsylvania Avenue in which they demanded the right to vote. The association was the largest and most important organization in the fight for women's suffrage in the United States. The march was a critical event in the successful fight for the right to vote. The women's rights march was strongly opposed by government officials, so when the association won the right to march it set a precedent under which almost any group could march on Pennsylvania Avenue. This precedent was exercised 12 years later. On August 7, 1925, about 40,000 members of the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
marched on Pennsylvania Avenue. The march signified the height of the Klan's power in the United States, even as it was about to lose much of its strength.
Another major demonstration on the avenue led to tragedy. In June 1932, thousands of homeless World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
veterans, their families, and their supporters occupied the recently-condemned assemblage of buildings at the Federal Triangle construction site between 6th and 9th Streets NW as part of the Bonus March
Bonus Army
The Bonus Army was the popular name of an assemblage of some 43,000 marchers—17,000 World War I veterans, their families, and affiliated groups—who gathered in Washington, D.C., in the spring and summer of 1932 to demand immediate cash-payment redemption of their service certificates...
on the capital to win better veterans' benefits. When the "Bonus Army" was granted the right to march down Pennsylvania Avenue, it transformed the protestors in the eyes of most Americans from rabble-rousers to patriots seeking fairness. On July 28, 1932, President Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
ordered General Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
to remove the Bonus Army from the site. At 4:45 p.m., MacArthur led a battalion of infantry, a squadron of cavalry, and six battle tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s (commanded by Major George S. Patton
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness.Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army after his graduation from...
) down Pennsylvania Avenue to remove the Bonus Army. More than 20,000 civil service workers (leaving their offices for the day) watched as the U.S. Army attacked its own veterans. A Bonus marcher was killed on the site of the Apex Building, and the Federal Triangle site was cleared of the Bonus Army.
The site carries such importance that on occasion the mere threat of a march down Pennsylvania Avenue has been able to secure political change.
For example, in 1941 the labor
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
and civil rights leader A. Phillip Randolph proposed a march on Washington, D.C.
March on Washington Movement
The March on Washington Movement lasted from 1933-1947. It was organized by A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin. Martin Luther King was heavily influenced by Randolph and his ideals. The March on Washington Movement was formed as a tool to organize a mass march on Washington, D.C., designed to...
, by 100,000 African American men to pressure the United States government into establishing protections against discrimination. President Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to persuade Randolph to call off the march, worried it would harm defense mobilization, but Randolph refused. Roosevelt subsequently issued Executive Order 8802
Executive Order 8802
Executive Order 8802 was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 25, 1941, to prohibit racial discrimination in the national defense industry...
, which established the Fair Employment Practices Committee and banned discrimination in defense contracts. The march was called off. Historian Andrew E. Kersten has called Randolph's March on Washington "the most significant nonevent in American history."
Area as metaphor
The historic site is often used as a political metaphor in the United States. Political scientistsPolitical science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and political commentators often use the mile-and-a-half (2.4 kilometres) length of Pennsylvania Avenue as a metaphor for the political gulf which sometimes exist between the President's and Congress' policy priorities. It has also been used as a metaphor for the separation of powers under the United States Constitution
Separation of powers under the United States Constitution
Separation of powers is a political doctrine originating from the United States Constitution, according to which the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the United States government are kept distinct in order to prevent abuse of power. This U.S...
. The area is also seen as a political synonym for the seat of government as well as the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
, for example, was often called "the sphinx of Pennsylvania Avenue."
External links
- Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site, National Park Service
- Lyndon B. Johnson. "Special Message to the Congress on the Needs of the Nation's Capital. February 15, 1965." John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters. The American Presidency Project. Santa Barbara, CA.
- Lyndon B. Johnson. "Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House on the Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site. September 30, 1965." John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters. The American Presidency Project. Santa Barbara, CA.