In 1935, the Federal Reserve Board held a national competition to select an architect who would design their new Washington, DC headquarters. The ultimate winner was the prominent Paul Philippe Cret, who was known for his design of the Pan American Union Headquarters building (1908) and the Folger Shakespeare Library (1929), amongst many other buildings.

Construction on the building began in 1935 and concluded in 1937, and resulted in a modern, four-story Stripped Classical style design with a marble exterior. It diverged from traditional architectural styles in the District and set the tone for future building designs in the city. The façade includes a distinctive marble eagle perched above the Constitution Avenue entryway.

In 1982, an act of Congress officially renamed the building after Marriner S. Eccles, a Federal Reserve Board Chairman who served from 1934 to 1948.

The building remains the headquarters of the Federal Reserve Board.

DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)

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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

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Built in 1935, this bridge replaced the 1891 iron trestle bridge that had been constructed in the same location. The Commission of Fine Arts considered bridge designs for this site for years before finally settling on Paul Philippe Cret’s neoclassical design for a concrete bridge with dressed limestone facing.  The bridge was designed to accommodate streetcars. Four sculptural reliefs by Leon Hermant, representing modes of transportation, adorn each of the pedestals (which lack sculptures) at the corners of the bridge. Each relief incorporates a Neoclassical nude with a locomotive, plane, ship, or automobile. Tree limbs extend over and obscure the pedestals; this vegetation has fostered the buildup of dirt and, in turn, deterioration of the reliefs. In 1974, after the death of Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington (1899-1974), the bridge was renamed for the famous composer/performer and native Washingtonian. In the late 1980s, five-foot-high metal railings were added to the bridge in order to discourage jumping. DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)

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