Railroad Retirement Board (Mary Switzer Building)
- Architect
- Charles Klauder
- Style
- Egyptian Revival
- City
- Washington, DC
First proposed in 1938 as part of a Depression-era federal construction push under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, meant to create jobs and relieve a decade-long federal office space shortage, the Mary E. Switzer Memorial Building was designed by Charles Klauder and Louis A. Simon in the Egyptian Revival style, a rare choice for a federal building. Completed on September 15, 1940, it was intended for the Railroad Retirement Board, but its first occupant was instead the United States Department of War.
the building
Egyptian Revival on a federal facade. Egyptian-inspired ornament covers the exterior, an unusual typological choice among Washington's federal buildings, which overwhelmingly favored classical or Beaux-Arts styles during this era of construction.
the style
The building's Egyptian Revival style is a rare specimen among federal buildings in Washington, making its exterior ornament immediately distinctive against its classical neighbors.
More on Egyptian Revivalthe architect
Charles Klauder was a documented architect of major institutional buildings elsewhere, including work at Yale University and the Cathedral of Learning; this federal commission was designed jointly with Louis A. Simon.
significance
Renamed by Act of Congress on October 21, 1972, for Mary E. Switzer, it became the first federal building named for a woman. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 6, 2007, and is also a DC Historic Landmark.
nearby
- Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building
- National Museum of the American Indian
- National Air and Space Museum
- Robert C. Weaver Federal Building
- Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
- East Building of the National Gallery of Art