National Union Building
- Architect
- Glenn Brown
- Year
- 1890
- Style
- Romanesque Revival
- City
- Washington, DC
- Collection
- romanesque revival
The National Union Building at 918 F Street NW was built in 1890 for the National Union Fire Insurance Company to a design by Glenn Brown, a fireproof steel-frame brownstone in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. It later spent 2013-2014 as LivingSocial's "experience" building and is now owned by Douglas Development Corporation, leased as event and entertainment space.
the building
Fireproof steel frame. Built for a fire insurance company, the building used a fireproof steel skeleton beneath its brownstone Romanesque skin, a fitting bit of structural confidence for its original tenant.
the style
Glenn Brown's design follows the Richardsonian Romanesque style popularized by H.H. Richardson, characterized by rugged masonry massing.
More on Romanesque Revivalthe architect
Glenn Brown was a noted Washington, D.C. architect and preservation advocate; this 1890 commission for an insurance company is one of his Richardsonian Romanesque works.
significance
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990 and a contributing property to the Downtown Historic District; it is also an individual DC Historic Landmark.
nearby
- Washington Loan and Trust Company
- The Gallup Building
- Ford's Theatre NHS-Star Saloon (south addition)
- Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
- Patent Office (National Portrait Gallery & National Museum of American Art)
- J. Edgar Hoover Building