Harry S. Truman Federal Building
- Architect
- Louis A. Simon
- Year
- 1941
- Style
- Rustic (Parkitecture)
- City
- Washington, DC
The Harry S. Truman Federal Building at 2201 C Street NW, headquarters of the U.S. Department of State, was completed in 1941 to designs by Louis A. Simon, the longtime Supervising Architect of the Treasury. Built to consolidate the expanding War Department's scattered offices ahead of World War II, it was officially named for President Truman in September 2000 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.
the building
Consolidating Foggy Bottom. In the early 1930s, the National Capital Park and Planning Commission sought to develop the Foggy Bottom blocks bounded by C, E, 18th, and 23rd streets. The building rose there to gather War Department operations that had been spread across several sites on the Mall.
the style
The building is classified as rustic architecture in the historic record, an unusual designation for a federal office building of its scale and period.
More on Rustic (Parkitecture)the architect
Louis A. Simon served for decades as Supervising Architect of the Treasury, the office responsible for federal building design nationwide; the Truman Building, completed in 1941, was among his last major Washington commissions in that role.
significance
Long known as 'Main State,' the building was formally renamed for Harry S. Truman in 2000 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.
nearby
- National Academy of Sciences
- American Institute of Pharmacy (American Pharmacists Association)
- United States Institute of Peace Headquarters
- Eccles Building
- Old Naval Observatory
- United States Public Health Service Building