Constructed to house the administrative offices of the Woodward & Lothrop department store, The Woodward is an important building within the Financial Historic District and represents the city’s commercial business history. Designed by Harding & Upman and completed in 1911, the building expanded the already-successful store’s capabilities. The building’s Renaissance Revival style matched other nearby office buildings constructed during this same time with similar classical design aesthetics. Built close to banks and other financial institutions, the area thrived as DC’s own “Wall Street” grew with the city. Woodward & Lothrop began as a small retailer that grew quickly throughout the late 19th century and into the 20th century. As the department store continued to expand its footprint in the city’s retail core at 11th and F streets NW, the office building helped ensure that their retail operations could continue smoothly and efficiently. While the office building hosted a number of offices, founder Samuel Woodward also used the building for his own personal offices. Today, the building houses luxury apartments with commercial space on the first floor, currently occupied by a restaurant.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
Within Financial Historic District
]]>Designed by architect Daniel H. Burnham, who also designed Union Station, and constructed from 1910 to 1912, the Southern Building was part of a larger building trend of banks and other financial institutions in downtown DC. One of many buildings designed by notable architects, the Southern Building added to the growing financial center of the city. Many of the buildings that would make up the Financial Historic District emulated the Beaux Arts style popular during the City Beautiful movement of the early 20th century. As the Chairman of the McMillan Commission, Burnham was a proponent of this style and movement. The Financial Historic District consists of numerous buildings along and near 15th Street NW and McPherson Square that housed financial institutions in the early 20th century. Their architectural styles emulated classical building styles of earlier centuries and within Europe, creating a unified look in the area. These buildings signaled a more “sophisticated” and “cosmopolitan” landscape, and were often at the forefront of new technology and services within office buildings. Like other buildings nearby, the Southern Building exemplified these traits.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
Within Financial Historic District
]]>Designed in 1939 in the Stripped Classical style, this limestone-clad office building is twelve stories tall, and centrally located near the White House, between McPherson and Lafayette squares. The exterior of the structure is plain and lacks ornamentation—narrow parapets and repetitive square windows maintain the nearly uniform appearance of the building. The interior mirrors the simplicity and restraint of the exterior, with standardized office spaces and unadorned fixtures.
The Lafayette Building is significant as the one-time headquarters of the Federal Loan Agency and its central component, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC). During World War II, the RFC would provide intensive support to the Allied powers through constructing new industrial plants, protecting raw materials from Axis powers, and producing synthetic rubber for the war effort.
The office building is also significant for its association with Jesse Holman Jones—a powerful political figure in Washington heavily associated with the RFC. He conducted much of his government business from his office in the Lafayette Building.
Today, the building remains in use as a functional and recently renovated office space, as the home of the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
National Register: September 1, 2005
National Historic Landmark: September 1, 2005
Within Financial Historic District
]]>The Denrike Building was completed in 1926 and designed by local architect Appleton P. Clark, Jr. Although part of a collection of office buildings in the Financial Historic District, the building’s exterior stands out for its Tudor Gothic Revival style design. The eleven-story building, just north of McPherson Square, replaced an 1884 Victorian Era house that belonged, at one point, to the former House Speaker Joseph Cannon. Prior to the 1920s, McPherson Square was filled with multiple residences, but these were mostly demolished with the development of the financial district and the increase in office spaces.
The Denrike Building, like many 20th century era office buildings, has a three-part design, including a base, middle, and top. The base of the building was converted into commercial storefronts, but the original limestone wall is still intact above the storefronts. The building’s middle is characterized by Tudor Gothic detailing, including vertical window bays separated by pilasters with Tudor arches and spandrels. The spandrels are also decorated with raised Tudor roses. The upper stories of the building are also decorated with intricate Tudor inspired stone carvings. The imposts and drip molds on the building are decorated with beast-like, human heads. Rectangular windows can be found on floors three through ten, but the upper floors' windows have arched openings with lintels carved with more roses.
The building was primarily used as office space, but is currently being converted into medium term rental units. The new plans include 89 multifamily units, with a large retail space on the ground floor. This rehabilitation is in response to the recent vacancies of office spaces following the Covid-19 pandemic. This project will retain the historic Gothic Revival style exterior while continuing to provide for the changing needs of the public.
DC Inventory: June 23, 2016
National Register: June 30, 2016
Within Financial Historic District
]]>The Commercial National Bank, also known as the Western Union Building, designed by noted Washington architect Waddy B. Wood in 1917, is an excellent early example of the simplified and stylized classicism that distinguishes some of DC’s most noteworthy early-twentieth century buildings. Commercial National Bank was among the first major buildings in Washington to embody the characteristics of this Stripped Classicism.
The abstract classical vocabulary displayed here in 1917 appeared repeatedly through DC’s architectural landscape in the 1920s and 1930s. However, the originality of Commercial National Bank’s stylized classical vocabulary and the subtlety of its expression makes it unique for this early date. This powerful building marks an important transition from Wood’s earlier, more literal use of traditional architectural forms to the boldness and abstraction of his later buildings.
DC Inventory: July 16, 1986
National Register: October 11, 1991
Within Financial Historic District
]]>The Bond Building has been a pivotal structure in downtown DC's business and financial district since it was constructed in 1901. The seven-story Beaux-Arts office building, designed by architect George S. Cooper (1864-1929), stands as a landmark to the prosperity and expansion of turn-of-the century Washington. Over the years, the building served as an office space for Senators, Congressmen, prominent attorneys and other professionals, as well as trade associations that have figured prominently in business life in DC and beyond.
In 1979, a developer bought the building and applied for a demolition permit. DC Superior Court Judge William E. Stewart Jr. blocked demolition in 1980. The Bond Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. Between 1985 and 1986, the façade was incorporated into a new building on the original site.
DC Inventory: September 18, 1980
National Register: September 15, 1983
Within Financial Historic District
]]>The B.F. Saul Building, constructed in 1924 at 925 15th Street NW, is a five-story, Classical Revival style building designed by notable local architect George N. Ray for the B.F. Saul Company, a major local real estate firm as a combination bank/office building.
The B.F. Saul Company was established in 1892 by B. Francis Saul as he sought to sell off his family’s extensive landholdings near Brightwood—the site of the former nurseries begun by his father, John Saul, in the mid-19th century. In the process, B.F. Saul established the foundation for the growth of his firm as a mortgage bank which he incorporated in 1903. B.F. Saul specialized in mortgage loans, but also dealt in real estate insurance, fire insurance, automobile insurance, rent collection and estate management.
The firm initially established its offices downtown at 11th and D Streets, but in 1921 moved to McPherson Square, following the northern migration of the city’s financial district to the area. In that year, B.F. Saul built its first McPherson Square office at 14th and I Streets, but within just a few years, built its combined bank/office building at 925 15th Street and the adjacent five-story office building at 923 15th Street NW (later known as the Colonial Mortgage Building). The B.F. Saul Co. likely recognized an opportunity to move its offices to larger quarters and to simultaneously profit from the speculative commercial development. The B.F. Saul Building replaced two earlier dwellings on the site.
Upon its opening, B.F. Saul occupied the first floor banking hall and mezzanine, and rented the upper floor offices. Early tenants included M. & R.B. Warren—a group of realtors and builders specializing in cooperative apartments who worked with B.F. Saul—and the C.H. Small & Company, also engaged in real estate. The growth of real estate companies around McPherson Square contributed to the growing reputation of the area as part of “Washington’s Wall Street.”
DC Inventory: July 28, 2016
National Register: October 4, 2016
Within Financial Historic District
]]>Constructed facing McPherson Square in 1917, the Davidson Building, designed by prominent local architect B. Stanley Simmons, is a representative example of a large scale private office development. In addition, the building fits within a category of private development designed and built for the federal government shortly before the Public Buildings Commission initiated policies to discourage the future practice of this trend. After the Federal Trade Commission left the building in 1918, subsequent tenants reflected the development of the 15th Street NW corridor as Washington’s “Wall Street.”
As one of the earliest tall commercial buildings constructed on K Street, the Davidson Building historically stood out among the diverse mix of smaller scale residential and commercial structures. As the neighborhood developed as a financial and real estate center in the 1920s and experienced further commercial development throughout the post-WWII period, the building has become one among many larger buildings in the area.
DC Inventory: July 28, 2016
National Register: October 4, 2016
Within Financial Historic District
]]>Designed by Waddy B. Wood and constructed as the executive headquarters for the Southern Railway Company, one of the most successful railroad conglomerates in the early 20th century U.S., this building is a highly visible remnant of the railroad industry. According to an article in the Washington Post, the official cornerstone laying was complete with Masonic ceremonies and took place on December 20, 1928. Grand Master James T. Gibbs of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia officiated using the same trowel and gavel that George Washington used in the laying of the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol.
In addition to its association with the railroad industry, the building is also significant for its role in transforming the surrounding area from a residential neighborhood into a bustling commercial district by the early 20th century. The building abuts the Peyser Building, another historic landmark within the historic district.
DC Inventory: February 25, 2016
National Register: April 26, 2016
Within Financial Historic District
]]>The Wire Building, constructed in 1949, is a 12-story Modern office building, distinguished both for its smooth limestone walls, which turn the corner in a sweeping curve, and its early use of continuous bands of windows. Built by real estate developer Preston Wire, whose business offices occupied the building’s second floor, it was one of the major works of the architecture firm of Aubinoe and Edwards. Erected following a two-decade-long slowdown in commercial development, the Wire Building was strikingly modern in appearance, setting a precedent for the next downtown construction boom.
DC Inventory: November 1, 2012
National Register: January 23, 2013
Within Financial Historic District
]]>