Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building
- Architect
- Charles Klauder
- Style
- Egyptian Revival
- City
- Washington, DC
Designed by Charles Zeller Klauder with the Office of the Supervising Architect under Louis A. Simon, this government building at 330 Independence Avenue SW was built in 1939-40 as the Social Security Administration Building — though Social Security wasn't actually its first occupant. Wartime demand for space sent it first to the War Department and the National Defense Commission, and only after World War II did the Federal Security Agency, parent of the Social Security Board, move in. It was renamed for Wilbur J. Cohen, a former Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, in 1988.
the building
Egyptian elements on a classical shell. Klauder's design mixes the spare, largely unornamented classicism typical of federal buildings from the late 1930s with distinct Egyptian Revival detailing, an unusual pairing for a Washington government building of its era.
the style
The Stripped Classical style — geometric and deliberately unornamented — was standard for federal buildings of the late 1930s. This one is crossed with Egyptian Revival elements, making it a rare federal building in Washington with an overtly Egyptian accent.
More on Egyptian Revivalsignificance
Voice of America was headquartered in the building beginning in 1954, and in 1953 it became the primary home of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, whose successor split in 1980 to form the Department of Health and Human Services. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was renamed for Wilbur J. Cohen, a former HEW secretary, on April 28, 1988.
nearby
- National Museum of the American Indian
- Railroad Retirement Board (Mary Switzer Building)
- National Air and Space Museum
- East Building of the National Gallery of Art
- National Gallery of Art
- Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden