Editing Federal Triangle (section)

==Construction of original seven buildings==
===Beginning: Hoover administration===
[[File:Oldpostoffice southernrailway districtbuilding c1932.jpg|thumb|The [[Old Post Office (Washington, D.C.)|Old Post Office Pavilion]] (left), Southern Railway Building (middle), and [[John A. Wilson Building|District Building]] on [[Pennsylvania Avenue]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], in December 1932]]
[[File:Federal Triangle Washington LOC hec.37493.jpg|thumb|right|A 1934 aerial photo of the western portion of Federal Triangle]]
[[File:Apexbuilding construction 1937.jpg|thumb|The [[Apex Building]] on Federal Triangle under construction in 1937]]
The [[United States Department of the Treasury|U.S. Treasury Department]] signed a contract to raze the buildings on the site of the planned [[Internal Revenue Service]] building in October 1926.<ref name="TwoContracts" /> The length of the Commerce building was set at {{convert|1000|ft|m}} in March 1927, and survey work at the site began on March 31, 1927 (even though final plans for the project were still unclear).<ref name="Whitaker" /><ref name="DateSet" /> Work on all buildings was postponed in May 1927.<ref name="PlannersSuggest" /> Work began again in September 1927, with demolition work on the Commerce and Internal Revenue sites.<ref name="PlansCapitol" /><ref name="TheCommerce" /> Excavation of both sites began on November 21, 1927.<ref>"Work on New Federal Buildings Starts Soon." ''Washington Post.'' November 18, 1927; "Contractors Start Excavating On Site of Revenue Office." ''Washington Post.'' November 22, 1927.</ref> Additional demolition contracts were awarded for both sites in April 1928,<ref>"Contract to Wreck Buildings Awarded." ''Washington Post.'' April 20, 1928.</ref> and foundation work for the Internal Revenue building began in June 1928.<ref>"Digging of Revenue Cellar Is Begun." ''Washington Post.'' June 19, 1928.</ref> Some 8,000 pilings were driven into the soft ground to support the foundation.<ref name="NewEdifice">"New Revenue Edifice Startles Imagination In Its Appointments." ''Washington Post.'' June 8, 1930.</ref> Work on Internal Revenue's superstructure began on March 8.<ref>"New Internal Revenue Structure Is Started." ''Washington Post.'' March 9, 1929; "First Steel Work Set For Revenue Building." ''Washington Post.'' March 22, 1929.</ref>

The cornerstone of the first building to be constructed, the Internal Revenue building, was laid by Treasury Secretary Andrew W. Mellon on May 25, 1929.<ref name="IRSCornerstone" /><ref name="MellonRain" /> While digging its foundation, workers uncovered a dock which was at least 100 years old.<ref>[[Tiber Creek]] had once run along B Street NW (now Constitution Avenue NW), and the dock had once extended into Tiber Creek. In 1815, Tiber Creek was straightened and connected to and became part of the [[Washington City Canal]]. The canal fell into disuse by the 1850s. Tiber Creek was enclosed by a masonry tunnel beginning in 1878 and the tunnel connected to the city's sewer system so that the creek's natural flow would help flush sewage into the [[Potomac River]]. Much of the area immediately south and west of the B Street NW and the Washington Monument was, at the time, part of the Potomac River. After a disastrous flood in 1881, the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]] dredged a deep channel in the Potomac and used the material to fill in the Potomac (creating the current banks of the river) and raise much of the land near the White House and along Pennsylvania Avenue NW by nearly six feet (two metres).  One or more of these actions buried the Tiber Creek dock. See: Tindall, William. ''Standard History of the City of Washington From a Study of the Original Sources.'' Knoxville, Tenn.: H.W. Crew & Co., 1914; Heine, Cornelius W. "The Washington City Canal." ''Records of the Columbia Historical Society of Washington, D.C.'' 1953; {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20120910025134/http://www.sewerhistory.org/articles/compon/1894_aen03/index.htm "The Tiber Creek Sewer Flush Gates, Washington, D.C."]}} ''Engineering News and American Railway Journal.'' February 8, 1894; Evelyn, Dickson, and Ackerman, ''On This Spot: Pinpointing the Past in Washington, D.C.,'' 2008; Bednar, ''L'Enfant's Legacy: Public Open Spaces in Washington,'' 2006; [[William Atherton Du Puy|Du Puy]], "New Washington Buildings Emerge," ''The New York Times'', June 1, 1930.</ref> [[Indiana Limestone|Indiana limestone]] was used for the facing, and [[Tennessee marble]] for the columns.<ref name="DuPuy" /> The sites of all the Triangle buildings had been established in their revised positions by May 1929, with two exceptions: The positions of the Justice and Archives buildings remained as originally planned (with Justice in the east), and the apex space remained unallotted.<ref name="McCormick" /> President (and former Commerce Secretary) Herbert Hoover laid the cornerstone of the Commerce building on June 10, 1929, using the same [[trowel]] President [[George Washington]] had used to lay the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol.<ref name="HooverHails" /><ref name="ReadySoon">"Ready Soon to Occupy Commerce Building." ''New York Times.'' December 26, 1931.</ref><ref>"Hoover and Notables Aid Dedication of Structure for Big Project." ''Washington Post.'' June 11, 1929.</ref> The construction contract for the Commerce building (set at $13.567 million) had been signed in March,<ref>"$13,567,000 Low Bid For Commerce Building." ''Washington Post.'' March 31, 1929.</ref> and the contract for its limestone facade—according to at least one newspaper account, the largest stone contract in world history—was awarded in April.<ref>"Stone Contract Is Given For Commerce Building." ''Washington Post.'' April 14, 1929.</ref> By then, the cost of the Commerce building had risen to $17.5 million.<ref name="HooverHails" /><ref name="ReadySoon" /> Due to the formerly [[marsh]]y condition of the soil and several submerged streams nearby, more than 18,000 [[deep foundation|pilings]] had to be set to support the Commerce building.<ref name="DuPuy" /> Water pressure from the submerged Tiber Creek made it too difficult to drive the piles,<ref name="Barrows">Barrows, George H. "Department of Commerce Home Baffles Writers Trying to Visualize Structure." ''Washington Post.'' December 31, 1931.</ref> so a [[Surface supplied diving|deep-sea diver]] descended into the underground Tiber Creek and drilled a hole 20 feet (6.1 metres) deep into the earth.<ref name="Barrows" /> A hose was inserted into the hole, and water pumped from the earth until the water table dropped and the driving of the piles could be accomplished.<ref name="Barrows" /> The [[Wall Street Crash of 1929|October 1929 stock market crash]] and subsequent [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]] led newly elected President [[Herbert Hoover]] to increase spending on existing public works as a means of stimulating the economy.<ref name="Cannadine" /> No funds had been authorized yet for the Archives, Independent Offices, Justice, or Labor buildings, and Hoover secured an additional $2.5 million a year for 10 years from Congress for this purpose.<ref name="HooverEnlarges">"Hoover Enlarges Capital Project." ''New York Times.'' July 6, 1929.</ref><ref name="Cannadine" /><ref>"Archives Building Bill Before House." ''Washington Post.'' December 6, 1928; "Justice Building Fund to Be Asked." ''Washington Post.'' November 3, 1929; "Hoover Urges 1932 as Date To Finish Building Program." ''Washington Post.'' December 4, 1929; Folliard, Edward T. "U.S. to Spend $25,000,000 In Building Here." ''Washington Post.'' December 29, 1929.</ref> Work on the Justice and Independent Offices/Labor buildings now proceeded.<ref name="Cannadine" />

Treasury officials hoped to have the Post Office building under construction and ground broken for the Justice building by December 1930.<ref>"$300,000,000 Program for Washington Told." ''New York Times.'' May 17, 1930.</ref> But a major design change and funding choices were made in 1930. Pope convinced the Commission on Fine Arts to switch the positions of the Department of Justice and National Archives, giving the Justice building more space.<ref name="Cannadine" /> Congress also amended the Public Buildings Act to permit private (not just federally employed) architects to bid on design contracts, and agreed to fund the construction of the Justice, Labor/ICC, National Archives, and Post Office buildings.<ref name="Cannadine" /><ref>For a time, the design of the Archives and Post Office buildings included the diversion of cool water from Tiber Creek to cool the buildings. See: "River Use to Cool Building Weighed." ''Washington Post.'' July 29, 1931; "Home of Federal Records Will Bring Dignity to Seventh St." ''Washington Post.'' December 22, 1933.</ref>

1931 saw much of the Federal Triangle project near completion. In March 1931, Congress appropriated $3 million to begin construction of the Apex Building, the last structure to be funded.<ref name="Cannadine" /> Demolition began on the site the following November.<ref>"Pennsylvania Ave. Razing Is Continued." ''Washington Post.'' November 6, 1931.</ref> The Internal Revenue building was completed and occupied in June.<ref name="DuPuy">[[William Atherton Du Puy|Du Puy, William Atherton]]. "New Washington Buildings Emerge." ''New York Times.'' June 1, 1930.</ref><ref name="InternalFinished">"Internal Revenue Building Finished." ''Washington Post.'' June 1, 1930.</ref> It was finished a year ahead of schedule, and contained more than 672,000 square feet (62,500 square meters) of office space (3.4 percent more than originally planned).<ref name="InternalFinished" /> But work had yet to begin on the Justice, Labor, or Post Office buildings.<ref name="DuPuy" /> Work on the ICC building finally began in April 1931 when the two blocks for the site began to be razed, and 13th Street NW was permanently blocked off at that time.<ref name="WorkICC">"Work On New I.C.C. Structure Nearing." ''Washington Post.'' April 21, 1931; "Firm Here Enters Low Bid on Razing." ''Washington Post.'' May 21, 1931.</ref> The first work on the Post Office site began in July with demolition as well.<ref name="Heurfurth">"Herfurth Will Clear New Postoffice Site." ''Washington Post.'' July 2, 1931.</ref> Demolition of existing structures on the Archives site ended in August 1931, and ground was finally broken on September 5.<ref>"Government Work Bids Invited Here." ''Washington Post.'' August 6, 1931; "Archives Building Excavating Is Let." ''Washington Post.'' August 27, 1931.</ref><ref name="ArchivesBrokenToday">"Archives Building Site to Be Broken In Ceremony Today." ''Washington Post.'' September 5, 1931.</ref> Meanwhile, razing of the ICC/Labor site was also completed by the first of September,<ref name="ArchivesBrokenToday" /> and excavation work began shortly thereafter.<ref>"Contract Is Signed For Excavation Job." ''Washington Post.'' September 2, 1931.</ref>

In 1932, the Commerce building opened and construction began on three additional buildings at Federal Triangle. The Department of Commerce building opened on January 4, 1932.<ref>"Hoover Inspects Commerce Building." ''New York Times.'' January 3, 1932.</ref> The finished building had 1,605,066 square feet (148,271.1 square metres) of office space (more than 60 percent larger than originally planned), and its foundation was more than three feet thick in places in order to withstand the hydraulic pressure put on it by the submerged [[Tiber Creek]].<ref name="ReadySoon" /> Water from the Tiber was utilized as an air conditioning system, to cool the building.<ref name="Barrows" /> July saw the construction contract for the $7.67 million Justice Department building signed.<ref>"Justice Building Contract Awarded." ''Washington Post.'' July 1, 1932.</ref> Although some funds for Federal Triangle projects had not been appropriated yet, work still went ahead using funds from other projects which were behind schedule.<ref>"U.S. Construction Work in Capital Is To Be Pushed Ahead." ''Washington Post.'' July 3, 1932.</ref> On September 26, 1932, the 143rd anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Postal Service, President Hoover laid the cornerstone of the Post Office Department building (although the foundation had already been laid, and the steel superstructure of the building was already three stories high).<ref name="Speeded" /><ref>"Capital Post Office Named for Franklin." ''New York Times.'' August 27, 1932; "Avenue Postoffice To Have New Name." ''Washington Post.'' August 27, 1932; "New Postoffice's Corner Stone Will Be Laid On Sept. 26." ''Washington Post.'' August 28, 1932; "Hoover to Preside In New Postoffice Corner Stone Rite." ''Washington Post.'' September 26, 1932.</ref><ref name="PostalFete">"President to Lead Postal Fete Today." ''New York Times.'' September 26, 1932.</ref> Once again, Hoover used the trowel which George Washington had used to lay the Capitol's cornerstone.<ref name="Speeded">"$10,000,000 Building Speeded By Hoover." ''New York Times.'' September 27, 1932.</ref><ref>"Washington's Trowel Is Used; Service Personnel Gets Executive Praise." ''Washington Post.'' September 27, 1932.</ref> Congress had appropriated $10.3 million for the new structure, which was designed to accommodate more than 3,000 workers.<ref name="PostalFete" /> Its eight stories would be laid on a granite foundation and the sides clad in limestone.<ref name="PostalFete" /> On December 1, 1932, the contract for construction of the limestone National Archives building (whose estimated construction cost was $5.284 million) was awarded to the [[George A. Fuller|George A. Fuller Company]] (which had constructed the [[The Times Square Building|New York Times Building]] and the [[Flatiron Building]]).<ref>"Fuller Gets $5,284,000 Contract." ''New York Times.'' December 2, 1932.</ref> Hoover laid two cornerstones on December 15 for the Labor/ICC building, the third building to begin construction that year.<ref name="HooverLaysLabor">"Hoover Lays Stone of Labor Building." ''New York Times.'' December 16, 1932.</ref><ref name="NewLabor">"New Labor Building Dedication Is Today." ''Washington Post.'' December 15, 1932.</ref><ref name="HooverDedicatesNewLabor">"Hoover Dedicates new Labor Building." ''Washington Post.'' December 16, 1932.</ref> Workers who were [[Freemasonry|Freemasons]] assisted the President in laying the cornerstones.<ref name="HooverLaysLabor" /><ref name="HooverDedicatesNewLabor" /> Hoover personally oversaw the dedication of the cornerstone at the Labor end of the building. His words were broadcast over loudspeaker to the workers at the ICC end of the structure, who placed the ICC cornerstone simultaneously at the President's instruction (becoming the first time in Washington history that a single person dedicated two cornerstones at the same time).<ref name="HooverLaysLabor" /><ref name="NewLabor" /><ref name="HooverDedicatesNewLabor" /> [[William Green (labor leader)|William Green]], President of the [[American Federation of Labor]], attended the laying of the cornerstone for the Labor building.<ref name="HooverLaysLabor" /><ref name="HooverDedicatesNewLabor" /> Once more, Hoover used the trowel used by Washington to lay the cornerstone of the Capitol.<ref name="HooverDedicatesNewLabor" /> Two weeks later, on December 30, the concrete foundation of the Archives building was poured.<ref>"New Archives Building Work Showing Progress." ''Washington Post.'' December 31, 1932.</ref>

Two days before [[George Washington]]'s birthday, U.S. President [[Herbert Hoover]] laid the cornerstone of the National Archives building on February 20, 1933.<ref>"Hoover to Preside at Archives Rites." ''Washington Post.'' February 19, 1933; "Hoover Dedicates Archives Building." ''New York Times.'' February 21, 1933; "President Places Archives Marker." ''Washington Post.'' February 21, 1933.</ref> The structure's cost was set at $8.75 million.<ref>McKee, Jr., Oliver. "A New Home for Our Archives." ''New York Times.'' May 14, 1933.</ref> Just three days later, he laid the cornerstone of the Department of Justice building with a trowel made from wood and cooper nails from the ''[[USS Constitution]]''.<ref name="Stresses">"Hoover Stresses Law Enforcement." ''New York Times.'' February 24, 1933.</ref><ref>"Hoover Lays Stone of Justice Building." ''Washington Post.'' February 24, 1933.</ref> [[Chief Justice of the United States|Chief Justice]] [[Charles Evans Hughes]], [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|Associate Justice]] [[Harlan F. Stone|Harlan Fiske Stone]], Associate Justice [[Owen Roberts]], Associate Justice [[James Clark McReynolds]], [[Solicitor General of the United States|Solicitor General]] [[Thomas D. Thacher]], and [[United States Attorney General|Attorney General]] [[William D. Mitchell]] all attended the ceremony.<ref name="Stresses" /> Five months later, a small fire at the Post Office construction site was extinguished by a security guard before it could do any damage.<ref>"Fire Extinguished At New U.S. Office." ''Washington Post.'' July 19, 1933.</ref> Late in 1933, the northern addition to the Internal Revenue building (the land had been condemned in December 1930)<ref name="CourtSignsOrder" /> began to rise.<ref name="Within" />

===Completion: Roosevelt administration===
[[File:Exterior of the Federal Trade Commission building (3360757186).jpg|thumb|The completed [[Federal Trade Commission Building|Apex Building]] in 1940]]
Only one building remained to be constructed under the new administration of President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]. By December 1933, the President was preparing his proposal to Congress for full funding of the Apex Building construction project.<ref>"Government Building." ''Washington Post.'' December 12, 1933.</ref> But the Apex Building itself almost was not built, as Pope and others argued that it tended to hide the planned National Archives building.<ref name="Worthy" /><ref>"Protests on Apex Building Probed." ''Washington Post.'' December 14, 1933; "Apex Building Site Discussed." ''Washington Post.'' December 16, 1933.</ref><ref name="Ponders">"Arts Council Today Ponders Apex Building." ''Washington Post.'' December 15, 1933.</ref><ref name="DCPlanning">"D.C. Planning Before Three Bodies Today." ''Washington Post.'' January 18, 1934.</ref> Still others thought the site should be used for the proposed [[Jefferson Memorial]].<ref name="Worthy" /><ref>"Boylan Asks A Memorial On Apex Site." ''Washington Post.'' December 24, 1933.</ref> Through Roosevelt's personal intervention, the building was saved—but nearly all its external ornamentation was stripped, and plans for a terraced fountain nearby eliminated, although a small fountain was built in what eventually became known as Patrick Henry Park.<ref name="Worthy" /><ref name="Wentzel" /><ref name="Views">"Apex Building Views Sought Of Roosevelt." ''Washington Post.'' December 17, 1933.</ref> Construction of the building was re-approved on January 18, 1934.<ref>"Apex Building Fits Scheme, Says Planners." ''Washington Post.'' January 19, 1934.</ref> The building's final cost was estimated at just over $12 million.<ref name="AtLast">"Capitol Triangle At Last Completed." ''Associated Press.'' August 4, 1935.</ref>

In 1934, one building began construction and another finished. The Apex Building site began to be cleared in April.<ref name="Eyesore" /> The Post Office building was occupied on May 6,<ref>"Postoffice Staff Finally Starts Moving Into New Structure." ''Washington Post.'' May 7, 1934.</ref> and [[United States Postmaster General|Postmaster General]] [[James Farley]] dedicated the Post Office Department building on June 11, 1934.<ref>"Farley to Talk At Postal Rites." ''Washington Post.'' June 7, 1934; "Postal Building Dedication Set." ''Washington Post.'' June 11, 1934.</ref><ref name="Oratory">"Oratory Stirs Throng at U.S. Building Rites." ''Washington Post.'' June 12, 1934.</ref> Its final cost was $10.83 million, about half a million dollars over budget.<ref name="Oratory" /> Construction in the rest of the Triangle, however, seemed stalled.  Although some structures had been razed on the site, no appropriation had been made for the Apex Building.<ref name="AdamsGrows" /> The government had also cleared land northeast of the Internal Revenue building (as planners considered adding yet another building to the Triangle), but Congress was increasingly opposed to demolishing either the Old Post Office or the District Building.<ref name="AdamsGrows" /> City officials considered selling the District Building to the federal government as a means of raising cash to build a new city hall, but federal officials balked at the idea.<ref>"Plan to Sell City Building Is Revived." ''Washington Post.'' January 18, 1934; "D.C. Building Again Offered For Sale to U.S." ''Washington Post.'' November 29, 1936.</ref> President Roosevelt dedicated the newly opened Department of Justice building on October 25, 1934.<ref name="Ceremonies">"Ceremonies Open Justice Building." ''New York Times.'' October 26, 1934.</ref><ref>"Roof Finished, Justice Building Dedication Set, Rain or Shine." ''Washington Post.'' September 27, 1934; "President Attends Dedication of Classic Hall of Justice." ''Washington Post.'' October 26, 1934.</ref><ref name="Notables">Gordon, Evelyn Peyton. "Many Notables Attend Justice Unit Dedication." ''Washington Post.'' October 26, 1934.</ref> Chief Justice Hughes, all the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, Attorney General [[Homer Stille Cummings]], and a large number of foreign ambassadors also attended the dedication.<ref name="Ceremonies" /><ref name="Notables" /> The $11 million structure had more than 550,000 square feet (51,200 square meters) of office space.<ref name="Ceremonies" /> By November 1934, the addition to the Internal Revenue building was nearing completion, and government officials were contemplating the razing of the District Building, Old Post Office Pavilion, and Southern Railway Building.<ref name="Within" />

The Labor/ICC and Archives buildings were opened in 1935. Numerous strikes (see below) had delayed the opening of the building for almost a year. In April 1934, Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins asked for additional (if minor) design changes.<ref>"Miss Perkins Asks Change in Labor Building." ''Washington Post.'' April 16, 1934.</ref> Pressing needs for office space meant that a portion of the ICC building was occupied before the structure was finished.<ref name="Within">"U.S. Triangle Buildings To Be Up Within Year." ''Washington Post.'' November 7, 1934.</ref> Minor alterations were made to the Labor building (such as creating a private rather than shared bathroom for the female Secretary) in January 1935.<ref>"Miss Perkins Won't Share Bath So New Labor Building Waits." ''Washington Post.'' January 18, 1935.</ref> [[United States Secretary of Labor|Secretary of Labor]] [[Frances Perkins]] dedicated the two buildings at a ceremony in the Departmental Auditorium on February 26, 1935, attended by AFL President William Green.<ref name="WorkICC" /><ref name="LaborEdifice">"Capital Dedicates New Labor Edifice." ''New York Times.'' February 26, 1935.</ref><ref>"New Building Dedicated Here To U.S. Labor." ''Washington Post.'' February 26, 1935.</ref> The Labor building's final cost was $4.5 million<ref name="LaborEdifice" /> and the ICC portion of the structure cost $4.45 million.<ref name="AtLast" /> The two buildings were connected by the 2,000-seat Departmental Auditorium (renamed the [[Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium]] in 1987).<ref name="AtLast" /><ref>The ICC was not the only agency to take up space in the building.  Due to the proliferation of [[New Deal]] government agencies and the lack of office space in the city, the ICC was forced to share office space for several years with the [[Federal Radio Commission]], the [[Resettlement Administration|Subsistence Homesteads Division]] of the Department of the Interior, the [[Tennessee Valley Authority]], and the [[Natural Resources Conservation Service|Soil Erosion Service]] of the Department of the Interior. See: "I.C.C. to Share Its Building." ''Washington Post.'' May 26, 1934.</ref> Meanwhile, construction forged ahead on the Archives building. Already considered too small to hold all the materials in its possession, a proposal had been made to add another story to the building.<ref name="Addition">"Archives Building Addition Dropped." ''Washington Post.'' March 26, 1935.</ref> This proposal was rejected in March 1935.<ref name="Addition" /> The National Archives building was occupied in November 1935, but had no formal dedication. Although the Archives structure had been one of the top priorities of almost all planners, it was one of the last buildings to be opened. Archives staff began moving into the building in November 1935, and the exhibition rotunda was opened to the public in November 1936.<ref>"Murals Portraying Nation's Birth Shown." ''New York Times.'' November 15, 1936; "Novel Safeguards Given to Archives." ''New York Times.'' September 4, 1938; [https://www.archives.gov/about/history/building-an-archives/building.html National Records and Archives Administration. "History of the National Archives Building." Archives.gov.  No date.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120106200738/http://www.archives.gov/about/history/building-an-archives/building.html |date=January 6, 2012 }} Accessed 2009-11-25.</ref> Records were not transferred in large numbers to the building until April 1937.<ref>"Records Go to New Archives." ''New York Times.'' April 18, 1937.</ref>

The Apex Building was the last to be constructed and dedicated. A major impetus for the building's construction came in June 1935, when the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) headquarters at C Street NW and 21st Street NW was razed to make way for the [[Eccles Building|Federal Reserve Board Building]].<ref name="Reserve">"Commission Asks Aid on New Home." ''Washington Post.'' June 15, 1935.</ref> The FTC petitioned the Commission on Fine Arts to permit it to occupy the Apex Building.<ref name="Reserve" /> Testing for the foundation began in September 1936, and was completed shortly thereafter.<ref>"Borers Test Site of Apex Building." ''Washington Post.'' September 3, 1936.</ref> With design work long completed and President Roosevelt expressing his wish that the structure be built, a $3.1 million contract for the building was signed on December 29, 1936.<ref>"$3,105,000 Contract Let For Building in District." ''Washington Post.'' December 30, 1936.</ref> Using the George Washington trowel, President Roosevelt laid the cornerstone for the building on July 12, 1937.<ref>"The Day in Washington." ''New York Times.'' July 13, 1937.</ref><ref name="Rite">"FTC Building Dedication Rite Set for Today." ''Washington Post.'' July 12, 1937.</ref> The building's $3.665 million cost was paid for out of [[Public Works Administration]] funds, and officials estimated it would be ready for occupation by January 1, 1938.<ref name="Rite" /> Demolition of the old foundation for the unbuilt Washington Memorial occurred in July 1937, and much of the Apex Building's steel superstructure was rising by then as well.<ref>Sadler, Christine. "Workmen Speed Foundation for $10,000,000 U.S. Art Gallery on Constitution Avenue." ''Washington Post.'' July 18, 1937.</ref> The great depth of the building's foundation meant that the crane operator lifting the steel beams into place was out of sight in the basement, and a series of telephone links from observers on the street relayed instructions to him.<ref>Ford, Elizabeth. "Huge Crane Is Operated by Engineer Hidden From Sight." ''Washington Post.'' September 6, 1937.</ref> By December 1937, the building was two months ahead of schedule.<ref name="Finished60days">"Federal Triangle Apex Building To Be Finished 60 Days Early." ''Washington Post.'' December 14, 1937.</ref>
{{multiple image
 | header = [[Relief]]s are found on numerous buildings throughout the complex
 | align = right
 | direction = horizontal
 | image1 = Exterior bas-relief, EPA East and West, located on 12th and Constitution Avenue, N.W. and part of the Federal Triangle, Washington, D.C LCCN2010719545.tif
 | width1 = 210
 | alt1 = female relief
 | caption1 = A relief of a female figure.
 | image2 = Exterior bas-relief, EPA East and West, located on 12th and Constitution Avenue, N.W. and part of the Federal Triangle, Washington, D.C LCCN2010719544.tif
 | width2 = 200
 | alt2 = male relief
 | caption2 = A relief of a male figure.
}}
One of the most important aspects of the new building was the group of massive sculptures to be installed on either side of the structure.  A jury of four nationally known sculptors ([[Paul Manship]], [[Adolph Alexander Weinman]], [[Lee Lawrie]], and [[William E. Parsons]]) selected the artist in January 1938.<ref name="ReliefRolls">"Sculptor, on WPA Relief Rolls, Wins $45,600 Federal Contract." ''Washington Post.'' January 27, 1938.</ref><ref>"Notables Inspect Sculptured Models Offered In Competition for Apex Building Adornment." ''Washington Post.''January 20, 1938; "Sculpture to Enhance Apex Building's Beauty." ''Washington Post.'' January 22, 1938; "200 Sculptors Await Washington Verdict." ''New York Times.'' January 26, 1938.</ref> The winner was [[Michael Lantz]], an award-winning instructor in sculpting then employed by the [[Works Progress Administration]].<ref name="ReliefRolls" /><ref>"PA Teacher Wins Sculpture Award." ''New York Times.'' January 27, 1938.</ref> The Apex Building had no dedication. The commission and staff moved into the 125,000 square foot (11,625 square metres) building on April 21, 1938.<ref name="Finished60days" /><ref>[http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/history/docs/90thAnniv_Program.pdf Bailey, Judith and Hamill, James. "Note on the Federal Trade Commission Building." ''90th Anniversary Symposium.'' Washington, D.C.: Federal Trade Commission, September 22-23, 2004.] Accessed 2009-11-25; "FTC Acquires Own Quarters; Neat, Not Gaudy." ''Washington Post.'' April 22, 1938.</ref>

Artwork, exterior details, landscaping, and other finishing touches on the construction of Federal Triangle occupied the period from 1938 to 1947. Landscaping issues of the Grand Plaza and Circular Plaza were considered in January 1934.<ref name="DCPlanning" /> To protect the Federal Triangle from flooding by the Potomac River (as had happened in 1871), the north and west grounds of the [[Washington Monument]] were raised in the summer of 1938 by about six feet (two metres) in order to form a [[dyke (construction)|dike]] against any future floodwaters.<ref>"Dike Will Protect Federal Triangle." ''Washington Post.'' January 16, 1938.</ref> The final art installation in the complex was the [[Oscar Straus Memorial|Oscar Straus Memorial Fountain]], designs for which were first considered in December 1933.<ref name="Ponders" /> Plans for the memorial were brought before President Roosevelt for his approval the same month.<ref name="DCPlanning"/><ref name="Views" /> Discussion continued into 1934.<ref name="DCPlanning" /> The Federal Triangle project was considered complete with the installation of the Straus Memorial in 1947.<ref name="Wentzel" />

But the Great Plaza was never built. Instead, the area was turned into a parking lot.<ref name="GreatPlaza">"Great Plaza Again Asked For Square." ''Washington Post.'' October 7, 1955.</ref>