The Pan American Union is the home of the world's oldest international association, founded in 1890 to foster cultural and commercial ties among the Western Hemisphere republics. It serves as a focal point of Washington's diplomatic and cultural activity. The building is widely considered to be among the city's most beautiful Beaux Arts buildings, in addition to being among the first major buildings implementing the McMillan Commission's plans for monumental extension of the Mall.
The construction took place from 1908 to 1910 and was largely funded by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The property occupies the former site of the Van Ness Mansion, a commanding location on the Ellipse at Constitution Avenue. Marble facades symbolically blend North and South American expression. Iconographic sculpture, principally by Gutzon Borglum and Isidore Konti, decorates the building, and the stately interiors boast extensive artwork.
Originally called the Bureau of American Republics, the organization was established at the First International Conference of American States in Washington in 1889-1890. It was renamed the Pan American Union in 1910 and later reorganized as the Secretariat of the Organization of American States in 1948.
This site is featured on the Commemorative Monuments and Memorials of DC tour because it features commemorative sculptures honoring Latin American figures and heroes on its grounds.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
National Register: June 4, 1969
National Historic Landmark: January 13, 2021
]]>Built between 1899 and 1902 by architects Ackerman & Ross, who had been selected in a national design competition, the Central Public Library was the first public building in DC to be built in the Beaux Arts style. The library is one of 1,679 libraries built in the U.S. using funds provided by Andrew Carnegie, and it served as DC's Central Public Library until 1970, when overcrowding moved the library's main branch to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library. It was the first desegregated public building in DC.
In 1999, Congress granted a 100-year lease of the Library to the Historical Society of Washington, DC. Since 2019, the Historical Society has occupied the second floor of the building with the DC History Center, while an Apple Store occupies the first.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
DC Inventory (Updated Documentation): April 30, 2020
National Register: December 3, 1969
This site is included on the Women's Suffrage in Washington DC tour for its role as a meeting space for suffragists and a common place to hand out pamphlets promoting the cause.
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