The James V. Forrestal Building is a low-rise Brutalist office building in Washington, D.C. Originally known as Federal Office Building 5, and nicknamed the Little Pentagon, the Forrestal Building was constructed between 1965 and 1969 to accommodate United States Armed Forces personnel. It is named after James Forrestal, the first U.S. defense secretary. It became the headquarters of the United States Department of Energy after that agency's creation in 1977.
The Forrestal Building is located at 1000 Independence Avenue SW. It consists of three structures: a Southern Building with eight floors above ground, the Northern Building with four floors above ground, and a Western Building with two floors above ground. All three structures are connected by two floors of underground office space. In order to provide access to L'Enfant Plaza, the North Building is raised up on pilotis (or columns).
Conflict over the site The area of Southwestern Washington, D.C., where the Forrestal Building is located was originally laid out in a grid pattern as specified by the L'Enfant Plan of 1791. By the early 1900s, Victorian-style rowhouses lined the south side of B Street SW (later renamed Independence Avenue SW). In 1901, the Senate Park Commission proposed a plan for the development of the monumental core and parks of the District of Columbia. The plan called for federal office buildings and museums to line the north and south sides of the National Mall. But little development of the area occurred.
Conflict with the Smithsonian
The first building proposed for the site was the Smithsonian Institution's National Air Museum. The museum, which was chartered in 1946, needed a new structure to house its rapidly expanding collection of aircraft and missiles. The National Air Museum Advisory Board, established to advise the Smithsonian about the operation of the new museum, recommended in 1953 that the new museum be located on Independence Avenue between 9th and 12th Streets SW. In June 1954, the Smithsonian sought the approval of the National Capital Planning Commission."National Air and Space Museum (National Air Museum)." Buildings of the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian: 150 Years of Adventure, Discovery, and Wonder, 1996. Accessed June 23, 2012.
However, a major redevelopment of much of Southwestern D.C. conflicted with the Smithsonian proposal. At the time, Southwest D.C. was mostly a slum which suffered from high concentrations of old and poorly maintained buildings, overcrowding, and threats to public health (such as lack of running indoor water, sewage systems, electricity, central heating, and indoor toilets).Gutheim and Lee, 2006, p. 266-267. In 1946, the United States Congress passed the District of Columbia Redevelopment Act, which established the District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA) and provided legal authority to clear land as well as funds to spur redevelopment in the capital.Committee on the District of Columbia, 1978, p. 112. Congress also gave the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) the authority to designate which land would be redeveloped, and how.Gutheim and Lee, 2006, p. 260. Wholesale razing of hundreds of acres of land in Southwest D.C. was contemplated. As early as 1952, there were already several proposals to transform 10th Street SW. These included constructing an esplanade above 10th Street SW,Gutheim and Lee, 2006, p. 268. creating a traffic circle at the intersection of 10th Street and Independence Avenue SW,Von Eckardt, Wolf. "In All Its Dead-End Glory." The Washington Post. May 5, 1973. and using 10th Street as a major thoroughfare for traffic coming off the 14th Street Bridge.Albrook, Robert C. "Zeckendorf to Start Detailed Slum Plans." The Washington Post. October 14, 1954. Some of these proposals had won the tentative support of the NCPC.Gutheim and Lee, 2006, p. 269-271. In February 1954, New York City developer William Zeckendorf proposed the creation of "L'Enfant Plaza" – a major development consisting of five office buildings, a cultural center, and a shopping mall. Zeckendorf's plan would replace 10th Street SW with a wide, grass-lined pedestrian mall.Zagoria, Sam. "Zeckendorf 'Ideal City' Is Described to Officials." Washington Post. February 17, 1954. The NCPC subsequently approved nearly all of Zeckendorf's proposal in April 1955, including the 10th Street mall.Allbrook, Robert C. "Zeckendorf Mall Plan Approved." Washington Post. April 9, 1955.
Conflict between the Smithsonian and Zeckendorf plans came to a head in late 1955. The Smithsonian had approached Zeckendorf in February 1954 and proposed that their airplane museum become the "cultural center" envisioned by the redevelopment plan.Historic American Buildings Survey, p. 86. Accessed June 23, 2012. But nothing came of this proposal. In September 1954, the NCPC came close to reversing itself and approving the Smithsonian plan. But John Remon, chairman of the RLA, strenuously objected. In February 1955, the NCPC tentatively approved the area on the south side of Independence Avenue SW between 9th and 12th Streets for the Air Museum. But it reversed itself in April, and said 10th Street SW would go through all the way to Independence Avenue."Air Museum Site Snags SW Planning." Washington Post. June 26, 1955. The approval of first one plan and then another created great controversy. The NCPC formally suspended its decision-making process in late November"Southwest Decision Is Postponed." Washington Post. November 29, 1955. because of the Smithsonian's desire to build along Independence Avenue.Allbrook, Robert C. "Southwest Delay Laid Chiefly to Air Museum." Washington Post. December 15, 1955. At issue was a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by Zeckendorf and the RLA in 1954. The MOU stated that 10th Street would be used as an esplanadeHistoric American Buildings Survey, p. 87. Accessed June 23, 2012. – a use which would be denied if 10th Street were blocked off at its northern end by a large museum building.
Resolution of the conflict in favor of GSA The impasse was broken by a third party. During World War I, an office building named the Munitions Building was built on the north side of the National Mall between 19th and 21st Streets NW. Designed to be temporary, it had never been torn down. A second, nearly identical temporary building, the Main Navy Building, was constructed east of it in 1941. Attempts to have these buildings demolished were made over the years, but these efforts had little effect. In March 1954, legislation was introduced in Congress to fund the demolition."Rep. Broyhill Offers Bills For Replacing 'Tempos'." Washington Post. March 4, 1954. But there was no place to house the displaced defense workers. Attention turned to the General Services Administration (GSA), the federal agency which owns most U.S. government buildings. GSA worried that spending federal funds for construction immediately would worsen inflation (which was running high at the time). The agency said it preferred to purchase land and pay for the construction of new federal buildings to house these workers through the use of federal "lease-purchase" legislation.Allbrook, Robert C. "Intelligence Agency Studies 3 Areas." Washington Post. April 15, 1955. This World War II-era statute allowed the GSA to lease land and permit a private developer to construct a building. GSA would provide financial guarantees to enable the developer to obtain financing for the building's construction, as well as agree to a long-term lease of the structure. Lease-purchase gave GSA the option of buying the land and building at the end of 20 or 30 years, with its lease payments being put toward the cost of the structure. Although the lease-purchase legislation did not specifically include the District, GSA thought it could be interpreted that way.
GSA was not completely convinced of the need for new federal construction at first. However, in November 1954 the agency released a new study which showed that the cost of maintaining the "tempos" compared unfavorably with the cost of new construction."New Buildings Cost Less To Maintain Than Tempos." Washington Post. November 12, 1954. Five months later, GSA proposed that several new federal office buildings be constructed in Washington, D.C., including one or more buildings along 10th Street SW. In June 1955, GSA announced it would definitely build a six-story, $20.2 million federal office building somewhere within the Southwest D.C. redevelopment area."GSA Is Planning Permanent Office In Southwest Area." Washington Post. June 5, 1955; Baker, Robert E. "6-Story Edifice Would Replace Some Existing Temporaries." Washington Post. July 23, 1955.
GSA's decision did not necessarily mean that a federal building would be built at the north end of 10th Street NW. In fact, the dispute between the Smithsonian and Zeckendorf over the Air Museum had still not been resolved by June 1955. But the General Services Administration had more political influence in Congress than either of them.
Obtaining funding
GSA moved ahead with its plans. In 1955, Congress authorized a GSA proposal to construct nine new federal buildings, including one in Southwest Washington, D.C.Olesen, Don. "U.S. Building Program Will Eliminate All Tempos South of Constitution Ave." Washington Post. October 5, 1955. Congress also enacted a lease-purchase statute which applied only to the District of Columbia. The act required congressional approval of the building requirements and architectural design, and an open bidding process.Historic American Buildings Survey, p. 104-105. Accessed June 23, 2012. In July 1956, the House of Representatives appropriated $40.9 million for a federal building on Independence Avenue SW between 6th and 9th Streets, and $25.2 million for three small office buildings to border the 10th Street SW esplanade. All the buildings would be financed under new lease-purchase legislation.Bassett, Grace. "8 New Federal Buildings Indorsed by House Unit". Washington Post. July 20, 1956.
But pressure was also building in Congress to end the lease-purchase program. In large measure, this was because Congress wanted more control over the placement and design of federal buildings. The RLA agreed in January 1957 to expedite the construction of any federal buildings in the redevelopment area.Historic American Buildings Survey, p. 105. Accessed June 23, 2012. But because of the uncertainty about the lease-purchase legislation, GSA deferred construction of any building in February 1957."Lease-Purchase Deferred". Washington Post. February 17, 1957. In March, the House of Representatives voted to end the lease-purchase program, and provided authorization for GSA to purchase outright any land or buildings it needed. But the House also put an immediate moratorium on new federal construction in the city.Eisen, Jack. "D.C. Temporary Buildings Appear Doomed to Permanency". Washington Post. April 27, 1958. Among the structures suddenly in limbo were: Federal Office Building No. 6 at 400 Maryland Avenue SW. It eventually opened in 1961 and was originally the headquarters of the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. In 1979, it became the headquarters of the United States Department of Education. Federal Office Building No. 8 at 200 C Street SW. (It eventually opened in 1965, and originally housed laboratories of the United States Food and Drug Administration. The agency moved to new, larger headquarters in Maryland in 2001, and in 2010 a $73 million project began to gut the structure and radically renovate the interior and exterior for occupancy by members of Congress and some smaller units of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.)Plumb, Tierney. "GSA Moves Forward on 200 C St. Renovation". Washington Business Journal. March 1, 2010. Accessed June 23, 2012.