dieser beitrag wurde verfasst in: englisch (eng/en)
künstler: Chester H. Aldrich, William A. Delano
titel: Ariel Rios Federal Building, Washington DC (William J. Clinton Federal Building / New Post Office)
jahr: 1934
adresse: 1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC, USA
+: The William J. Clinton Federal Building is part of the Federal Triangle government complex in Washington, DC. It was constructed in the 1930s as the headquarters for the U.S. Post Office Department, which was then one of the largest civilian employers in the country. Referred to as the New Post Office, it replaced a succession of post offices, including the 1890s Old Post Office building located across 12th Street.
By the early twentieth century, the area north of the National Mall between the Capitol and the White House was one of the city's most blighted neighborhoods. Referred to as Murder Bay, it was a center of crime and prostitution instead of the grand locale that Pierre Charles L'Enfant envisioned as part of his 1791 plan of Washington.
In an attempt to improve the city, planners decided to fulfill L'Enfant's intention while incorporating the ideals of the City Beautiful movement. The result of their efforts was the McMillan Plan of 1901--the first federally funded urban redevelopment plan. Distinguished office buildings executed in classical styles of architecture would replace the blight and assert the power and permanence of the government.
Architects William A. Delano and Chester H. Aldrich created a monumental building with a semicircular facade to front the grand plaza planners envisioned for the center of the Federal Triangle. Their design was intended to rival the magnificence of public buildings in other world capitals. They drew inspiration from London County Hall and Place Vendame in Paris. Using the same trowel that President George Washington used to lay the Capitol's cornerstone in 1793, President Herbert Hoover laid the cornerstone in 1932.
In 1971, the U.S. Post Office Department became the U.S. Postal Service and shortly after vacated its headquarters. Renamed the Ariel Rios Federal Building in 1985 to honor a fallen Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent, the building still has a post office, but the Environmental Protection Agency is the main occupant. It is part of the Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site designated by Congress in 1966.
Art is an integral component of the interior. Commissioned by the Section of Fine Arts during the 1930s, 24 murals depict the country's postal heritage and a ceiling mural depicts the 4 seasons and Zodiac signs. Figurative sculptures are found throughout the building.
(source: GSA US General Services Administration)