Editing Federal Triangle (section)

===1926===
[[File:Grand Central Palace - Central Market.jpg|thumb|Center Market in the 1920s]]
Federal Triangle, as the area would be renamed, had its genesis in 1926.  An attempt to provide $50 million to fund, among other things, a national archives building and develop federal offices along Pennsylvania Avenue NW was proposed in 1925.<ref>"New Grandeur to Come to Washington." ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]].'' February 8, 1925.</ref> The effort saw success in 1926 with the passage by the [[United States Congress]] of the [[Public Buildings Act]], which authorized<ref>Authorization legislation establishes a program that will later spend the money, but may not provide any funding. An appropriation is needed to actually fund the program. See: Rieselbach, Leroy N. ''Congressional Politics: The Evolving Legislative System.'' 2d ed. New York: Westview Press, 1995. {{ISBN|0-8133-2458-0}}</ref> the construction not only of the Federal Triangle complex of buildings but also a new [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] building opposite the [[United States Capitol]], a major extension of the [[United States Government Printing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]] building on [[North Capitol Street]], and significant widening of B Street NW on the north side of the National Mall (eventually renamed [[Constitution Avenue]]).<ref name="Cannadine" /><ref name="Wentzel">Goode, James. "Introduction: The Creation of Monumental Washington in the 1930s." In [[Volkmar Wentzel|Wentzel, Volkmar Kurt]] and Goode, James. ''Washington by Night: Vintage Photographs From the 30s.'' Reprint ed. James Goode, ed. Golden, Colo.: Fulcrum Publishing, 1998. {{ISBN|1-55591-410-1}}</ref><ref name="BuildingMeasure">$165,000,000 Public Building Measure Signed By Coolidge." ''[[The Washington Post|Washington Post]].'' May 26, 1926.</ref> However, appropriations were to be made annually, leaving control of the project firmly in Congressional hands.<ref name="Cannadine" /><ref name="BuildingMeasure" /> Congress [[Appropriation (law)|appropriated]] $50 million, including $10 million annually for five years, for construction of these projects in 1927, with half the funds to be spent solely on Federal Triangle.<ref name="Whitaker">Whitaker, Charles B. "Building for the Glory of Washington." ''New York Times.'' March 6, 1927.</ref><ref name="Wide">"Wide Federal Plan for Buildings Told." ''New York Times.'' June 6, 1926.</ref><ref name="Worthy" /><ref name="Developing">"Developing the Federal City." ''New York Times.'' November 19, 1926.</ref> A second appropriation bill provided $25 million for buying up all additional privately held land in Federal Triangle.<ref name="Whitaker" /><ref name="MellonTells">"Mellon Tells Aim in Capital Plans." ''New York Times.'' October 19, 1928.</ref> On June 5, 1926, the Treasury Department, which had been given authority over the implementation of the building program, announced the Federal Triangle projects (among others) which would move forward and their anticipated cost:<ref name="Wide" /><ref name="Plan">"Plan 4 Federal Buildings." ''New York Times.'' July 8, 1926.</ref><ref name="BuildingsProvided">"$33,725,000 in New Federal Buildings Provided For City." ''Washington Post.'' June 6, 1926.</ref>
:*A National Archives building, with total cost of land and construction to be $6.9 million, including $1 million appropriated in fiscal 1927.<ref>Just days earlier, the Commission of Fine Arts and Public Building Commission pegged the cost of the proposed Archives building at $2 million. See: "Archives Building to Cost $2,000,000 Decide Upon Here." ''Washington Post.'' May 29, 1926.</ref>
:*A new [[Internal Revenue Service|Internal Revenue Bureau]] building, with total cost of land and construction to be $7.95 million, including $1.7 million appropriated in fiscal 1927.
:*A new Department of Commerce building, with total cost of construction to be $10 million, including $600,000 appropriated in fiscal 1927.
Treasury officials said the Archives building was their top priority, followed by the Internal Revenue building, two [[United States Department of Agriculture|Department of Agriculture]] projects, and the Commerce building last.<ref name="BuildingsProvided" /> At that time, no provision was made to construct a new building for the Department of Justice and no sites were named for construction of the three announced buildings.<ref name="Wide" /> Preliminary plans for the Commerce building were presented to the Commission on Fine Arts and Public Building Commission in mid-June.<ref>"Commerce Building Plans Are Outlined to Fine Arts Body." ''Washington Post.'' June 18, 1926.</ref> On July 7, the Treasury Department and Commission of Fine Arts announced sites and sizes for the three previously announced structures.  The Department of Commerce building would contain 1 million square feet (93,000 square metres) of office space and be sited on the south side of B Street NW (now Constitution Avenue NW) on the National Mall.<ref name="Plan" /><ref name="FourSites">"4 Sites Selected for U.S. Buildings in Local Program." ''Washington Post.'' July 8, 1926.</ref> The Internal Revenue building would contain 650,000 square feet (60,450 square metres) of office space and take up two whole city blocks between 10th and 12th Streets NW and B and C Streets NW (cutting off 11th Street NW).<ref name="Plan" /><ref name="FourSites" /> The National Archives would contain 2.3 million square feet (213,900 square metres) of office space, and take up one city block between 12th and 13th Streets NW and B and C Streets NW (cutting off the last block of Ohio Avenue NW).<ref name="Plan" /><ref name="FourSites" /><ref>Treasury officials had tentatively announced this site for the Archives building on June 1, 1926. The July 7 announcement appears to have made this selection final. See: "Prospective Archives Location Is Reported." ''Washington Post.'' June 2, 1926.</ref> The government owned three of the four plots needed for the Internal Revenue site, but none of the land beneath the proposed Archives building.<ref name="FourSites" /> Purchasing both sites, officials estimated, would cost $700,000 each.<ref name="FourSites" />  Treasury officials also proposed at this time adding a Justice building on Pennsylvania Avenue between 14th and 15th Streets NW, and a Labor building (facing 15th Street) between 14th and 15th Streets NW and D Street NW and Ohio Avenue NW.<ref name="FourSites" /> Preliminary plans for these buildings were expected to be presented in three months.<ref name="FourSites" />

The purchase of land delayed the construction program considerably over the next several years. [[Center Market, Washington, D.C.|Center Market]], designed by [[architect]] [[Adolf Cluss]] and built in 1872, was the largest of the District of Columbia's markets, serving tens of thousands of people a day at a time when [[general store]]s and [[greengrocer]]s were uncommon in the city.<ref name="Goode" /> It was also a hub for transportation in the District of Columbia, as the city's [[tram|trolley]] lines converged there.<ref name="Goode" /> At the time it was built, it was the largest food market in the United States—with space for more than a thousand vendors, the city's first [[Refrigeration|cold-storage]] vaults, its own ice storage facility, and its own [[Artesian aquifer|artesian]] [[water well|well]].<ref name="Goode" /> Center Market, however, occupied two blocks between 7th and 9th Streets NW on the north side of B Street NW.<ref name="Goode" /> As early as August 1926, planners recognized that relocating Center Market and purchasing land from owners eagerly seeking inflated prices from the federal government would delay the Federal Triangle project significantly.<ref>"U.S. Building Program Here Is Being Delayed." ''Washington Post.'' August 18, 1926.</ref> Early negotiations with private landowners in the area collapsed early on when owners demanded exorbitant prices for their properties, and the city and federal government began [[Eminent domain|condemnation]] proceedings in late August 1926 against owners on B Street NW between 10th and 13th Streets.<ref>"U.S. Building Sites Adjacent to Mall to Be Condemned." ''Washington Post.'' August 22, 1926.</ref> Federal legislation authorizing expanded, faster condemnation powers for the Federal Triangle areas was sought in November 1926, and passed a month later.<ref name="LandPurchase" /><ref>"Bill for Purchase of Mall Triangle Passed by Senate." ''Washington Post.'' December 16, 1926.</ref> Condemnation (under the old eminent domain law) of the final block necessary for the Internal Revenue building began in January 1927.<ref>"Move Made For Block For Bureau of Revenue." ''Washington Post.'' January 16, 1927.</ref> The Commission of Fine Arts placed a ban on all non-federal construction in the area in February 1927.<ref>"Commission Halts District Building Plans in Triangle." ''Washington Post.'' February 27, 1927.</ref> The relocation of Center Market began in July 1927.<ref>"Building Officials Consider New Site for Center Market." ''Washington Post.'' July 15, 1927.</ref> The final lot for the Internal Revenue site was not condemned and purchased until October 1927.<ref>"Price Ratified for Site Of Revenue Building." ''Washington Post.'' October 15, 1927.</ref> Negotiations for the privately owned land at the Archives site began in late November 1927.<ref>"Treasury Negotiations Begun For Two Tracts." ''Washington Post.'' November 26, 1927.</ref> Funds were furnished in February 1928 to buy the Southern Railway building at the southwest corner of 13th Street NW and Pennsvylania Avenue NW, which already housed a number of federal agencies (it was purchased in 1929).<ref name="Goode" /><ref>"Fund to Purchase Southern Railway Building Provided." ''Washington Post.'' February 8, 1928; "$2,680,000 Voted to Buy Southern Railroad Building." ''Washington Post.'' February 16, 1928.</ref> After six months, D.C. city officials finally began to consider a new location for Center Market.<ref>"City Heads Asked to Change Choice for Market Site." ''Washington Post.'' February 11, 1928; "Group Considers Site for Building." ''Washington Post.'' July 19, 1930.</ref> The new 1926 federal condemnation law was first used in October 1929 to condemn a set of parcels on the south side of D Street NW between 13th and 13½ Streets NW.<ref>"New Condemnation Statute Is Invoked." ''Washington Post.'' October 15, 1929.</ref> A second set of parcels (Pennsylvania Avenue NW and B, 12th, and 13th Streets NW) was condemned under the new law in December 1930.<ref name="CourtSignsOrder">"Court Signs Order For Triangle Land." ''Washington Post.'' December 6, 1930.</ref> The first land for the National Archives (later the Justice Department) building site was not acquired until July 1930 even though the site had been selected for development in November 1926.<ref>"Federal Triangle Site Is Acquired by Sale." ''Washington Post.'' July 20, 1930.</ref> Center Market was not relocated until early 1931, more than four years after the process began.<ref>Odlin, William S. "Center Market Passes Into History." ''Washington Post.'' January 4, 1931.</ref> Additional land for the Justice and Post Office buildings was condemned in March and December 1931.<ref>"Juries Cut Figures For Building Sites." ''Washington Post.'' March 18, 1931; "U.S. Acts to Get Lots For Justice Building." ''Washington Post.'' March 25, 1931; "Government Gets Land in Mall Area." ''Washington Post.'' December 2, 1931.</ref> Another major effort had to be made to condemn and remove railroad tracks from Federal Triangle, which had converged on the Center Market site.  Although the Treasury Department had ordered the tracks lifted by April 1, 1931, this effort did not begin in earnest until early 1931.<ref name="Writ">"Writ to Be Asked to Balk Removal of Tracks By U.S." ''Washington Post.'' February 26, 1931.</ref><ref>"Officials Have Parley On Rail Condemnation." ''Washington Post.'' January 16, 1931.</ref> Negotiations over the price of the land and equipment broke down in February 1931,<ref name="Writ" /> and the tracks had still not been removed by January 1932.<ref>"Tracks in Triangle Area Impede Work, Mellon Points Out." ''Washington Post.'' January 12, 1932.</ref> Delay occurred in obtaining the Post Office land as well. Several parcels of land were not condemned until July 1, 1931<ref>"Mall Area Titles Acquired By U.S." ''Washington Post.'' July 1, 1931.</ref>—a single day before demolition on adjacent parcels of land began.<ref name="Heurfurth" /> The land for the Apex Building site was finally obtained through condemnation in July 1931.<ref>"Avenue Block Price Is Set At $877,824." ''Washington Post.'' July 18, 1931.</ref>

The initial Federal Triangle building plan was significantly revised by the Public Buildings Commission in November 1926.<ref name="Pick">"Pick Capital Sites for New Buildings." ''New York Times.'' November 18, 1926.</ref> President [[Calvin Coolidge]] refused in September to permit the Commerce building to be placed on the Mall.<ref>"Government Buildings." ''Washington Post.'' September 12, 1926.</ref> A few weeks later, the Commission of Fine Arts decided that the Commerce building should be relocated to 14th and 15th Streets NW, extending from D Street NW to B Street NW (cutting off Ohio Avenue NW and C Street NW).<ref>"Department of Commerce Site." ''Washington Post.'' September 18, 1926.</ref> The National Capital Parks and Planning Commission established a committee (composed of [[William Adams Delano]], [[Milton Bennett Medary]], and [[Frederick Law Olmsted Jr.]]) to study the street plan in the Federal Triangle area and recommend appropriate closures or alterations (if any).<ref>"Committee to Study Closing of Streets." ''Washington Post.''September 21, 1926.</ref> While the Public Buildings Commission studied the Commerce site (and even considered halving the size of the building so that two structures could be built along 15th Street),<ref>"Building Body to Study Commerce Structure." ''Washington Post.'' September 22, 1926; "Commerce Building Site May Be Divided." ''Washington Post.'' October 4, 1926.</ref> plans for the Archives building were approved<ref>"Experts Approve Plans for Archives Building." ''Washington Post.'' September 25, 1926.</ref> and a contract signed for razing of the Internal Revenue site.<ref name="TwoContracts">"Two Contracts Let Under $50,000,000 Building Program." ''Washington Post.'' October 8, 1926.</ref> After these deliberations, the Public Buildings Commission announced on November 17, 1926, that several new buildings would be added and new sites for proposed buildings announced, including:<ref name="Pick" /><ref name="Whitaker" /><ref name="LandPurchase">"Pennsylvania Avenue Land Purchase Will Be Asked." ''Washington Post.'' November 18, 1926.</ref>
:*A new Department of Justice building, to be located between Pennsylvania Avenue NW and D Street NW, and 14th and 15th Streets NW.
:*A new "General Supply" building, to be located between 14th and 13th Streets NW between D and C Streets NW.
:*A new Independent Offices building, to be located between 12th and 13th Streets NW and B and C Streets NW (cutting off the last block of Ohio Avenue NW; this was the original proposed site of the National Archives in June 1926).
:*A new Department of Labor building, to be located between 13th and 14th Streets NW and B and C Streets NW.
:*A new [[Government Accountability Office|General Accounting Office]] building, to be located between 9th and 10th Streets NW and B and C Streets NW.
:*Moving the Department of Commerce site from the National Mall to between 14th and 15th Streets NW between C and B Streets NW.
:*Moving the National Archives site northward to between 12th and 13th Streets NW and Pennsylvania Avenue NW and C Streets NW (cutting off D Street NW).
:*Retaining the previously announced site of the Internal Revenue building.
The Public Buildings Commission also announced it would build an 1,800-car parking lot next to the Department of Commerce building, and would proceed with construction of the Commerce and Archives first (as they were the top priority).<ref name="Pick" /><ref name="Developing" /> Three months later, the estimates for construction of the Commerce building was increased to $16 million from $10 million and for the Internal Revenue building to $10.5 million from $2.5 million.<ref>"$2,275,000 Is Asked For Building Work In City Next Year." ''Washington Post.'' February 19, 1927.</ref> Work on the Commerce building site was expected to begin by March 31, 1927.<ref name="DateSet">"Date Set For Start On New U.S. Building." ''Washington Post.'' March 4, 1927.</ref> Government officials, other experts, and the press believed that the demolition of the District Building and Old Post Office Pavilion and the closure of many streets in the area would occur.<ref name="Whitaker" />