Lafayette Building History

Site History

The Lafayette Building is located on the northwest corner of Lafayette Park, near McPherson Square and just a block away from the White House. The building occupies approximately two-thirds of the block bounded by the diagonal of Vermont Avenue on the west, I Street on the north, 15th Street on the east and H Street on the south.

The Lafayette Building is a highly developed example of the stripped classical style, illustrating the continued preference for classically derived modernism in the nation’s capital well into the mid-twentieth century. Designated a National Historic Landmark in September 2005, the Lafayette Building is a contributing structure within the Fifteenth Street Financial Historic District and located in close proximity to both the Lafayette Park Historic District and Pennsylvania Avenue Historic District.

Design & Construction

Designed by Holabird & Root of Chicago in collaboration with their former associate A.R. Clas of Washington, the Lafayette building is an excellent example of the stripped classical style that was popular Washington for the first half of the twentieth century. Upon completion, the building was admired for its simplicity and direct, businesslike character. The 12-story limestone-clad office building was not only among the earliest government office buildings in Washington to be centrally air-conditioned but also one of the first to include a built-in garage.

Constructed by a private developer in 1940, the building was primarily leased to various federal government agencies upon its completion. An ideal location for government offices, in close proximity to the White House, the government purchased the building in 1947. Notably, the Lafayette Building is unusual among government buildings due to the incorporation of commercial storefronts along its 15th Street elevation.

Original Tenant Agencies

The Lafayette Building was privately developed as a speculative venture with the intent that it be leased to the federal government. Upon its completion, numerous small federal agencies took up residence, including the Federal Loan Agency and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), which were critical in financing the mobilization of American industry in the wake of World War II. Other tenants of the building included the Disaster Loan Agency, Federal National Mortgage Authority, the Elective Home and Farm Authority, and the Export-Import Bank of the United States, which is still in residence today.