General Post Office (Washington, D.C.)

General Post Office
Location 700 F St., NW, Washington, D.C.
Coordinates 38°53′48″N 77°1′22″W / 38.89667°N 77.02278°W / 38.89667; -77.02278Coordinates: 38°53′48″N 77°1′22″W / 38.89667°N 77.02278°W / 38.89667; -77.02278
Built 1839 (1839)
Architect Robert Mills (architect) & Thomas U. Walter
Architectural style Greek Revival
NRHP reference # 69000311
Significant dates
Added to NRHP March 24, 1969[1]
Designated NHL November 11, 1971[2]

The General Post Office, also known as the Tariff Commission Building, is a historic building at 700 F Street NW in Washington, D.C. Built in 1839 to a design by Robert Mills and enlarged in 1866 to a design by Thomas U. Walter, it is an exceptionally fine example of Classical Revival architecture. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1971 for its architecture.[2][3][4] It presently houses the Hotel Monaco.

Description

The former General Post Office building occupies an entire city block in central Washington, bounded by 7th and 8th Streets NW, and E and F Streets NW. Built in two major stages, it is composed of two U-shaped structures surrounding a central courtyard. The southern section, mainly facing E Street, is a marble structure three stories in height, set on a raised basement. Its main facade is nineteen bays wide, with the entrance recessed in an enlarged bay at the center. Bays are articulated by banded piers on the first floor and Corinthian pilasters above. Windows on the second floor are topped by peaked lintels. The northern section has a more elaborate facade fronting F Street, which now serves as the main hotel entrance. At its center is a five-bay entrance pavilion, with an arcaded recess above the entrances framed by Corinthian pillars and pilasters. The building's public interior spaces on the south side exhibit characteristics of Robert Mills' design, including barrel-vaulted passageways.[4]

History

Robert Mills designed the General Post Office, completed in 1842. Thomas U. Walter oversaw the General Post Office's expansion from in 1855 to 1866. The General Post Office moved out in 1897. The General Land Office was a tenant from 1897 to 1917. The National Selective Service Board was a tenant in 1919. The Tariff Commission was a tenant from 1932 to 1988.

In 2002, Michael Stanton Architecture in partnership with the Kimpton Group was selected by the General Services Administration to convert the building into a 184-room hotel, known as the Washington Monaco Hotel. The Washington Monaco Hotel was honored with the Washington DC Mayor's Award for Historic Preservation, the Business Week / Architectural Record Award, the GSA Heritage Award for Adaptive Use, and the GSA Heritage Award for Conservation and Restoration.[5][6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2007-01-23). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 "General Post Office". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  3. ↑ "U.S. International Tariff Building/Hotel Monaco, Washington, DC", GSA
  4. 1 2 W. Brown Morton III and Nancy C. Taylor (March 8, 1970). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Tariff Commission Building / General Post Office" (pdf). National Park Service. and Accompanying four photos, exterior, from 1971 (32 KB)
  5. ↑ "Architectural Preservation Services: News - Recent News Updates from APS". Aps-wei.com. Retrieved 2014-08-07.
  6. ↑ Hotel Monaco Washington, D.C.
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