United States Department of Agriculture South Building facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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U.S. Department of Agriculture South Building
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 Location in Central Washington, D.C.
Location in the District of Columbia
Location in the United States
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| Location | 14th Street and Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. |
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| Built | 1936 |
| Architect | Louis A. Simon |
| Architectural style | Modern Movement, Stripped Classicism |
| NRHP reference No. | 07000643 |
| Added to NRHP | July 05, 2007 |
The U.S. Department of Agriculture South Building is a very large office building in Washington, D.C.. It is home to many offices of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). You can find it at the corner of 14th Street and Independence Avenue.
Contents
Building History
The South Building was started in 1930. It was built to hold the growing number of offices for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The main USDA building, called the Jamie L. Whitten Building, was finished in 1930. However, during the Great Depression, new farming programs needed much more space than the main building had.
Construction and Size
So, construction on the South Building continued in stages. It was finally finished in 1936. For a while, it was the biggest office building in the world! It was 458 feet (140 m) long and 944 feet (288 m) wide. This huge building has seven floors and about 4,500 rooms. The Pentagon later became even bigger.
The building's design was created by Louis A. Simon. He worked for the Federal Office of the Supervising Architect. The South Building was connected to the main USDA building by two covered walkways. These walkways go over Independence Avenue. This helped bring all USDA operations into one big area. The new building also had special lab spaces, along with offices. It was first called the "Extensible Building" because it could be expanded over time.
Historic Recognition
The U.S. Department of Agriculture South Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. This means it is recognized as an important historic place.
Building Design and Look
The South Building's style is a simpler version of Classicism. It uses shapes and ideas from old Greek and Roman buildings. But it doesn't have a lot of fancy, expensive details. This style was popular for government buildings for a while. It showed that the South Building was important, but not as grand as the main USDA building. Inside, the building has many straight hallways. Only the main meeting hall and library are different. The inside areas are even simpler than the outside.
Exterior Features
The building has seven long sections that run north to south. These sections are connected at each end. The "Headhouse" faces Independence Avenue, and the "Tailhouse" faces C Street. The sides of the building that face 12th and 14th Street were meant to be seen from the National Mall. So, these parts are covered in limestone.
The sides facing C Street and Independence Avenue are not easily seen from the National Mall. These parts use brick as the main material. They have some limestone and terra cotta details. The 14th Street side also has a grand entrance. It features sixteen tall Corinthian columns. Between the windows, you can see special art panels. These panels show animals found in the United States. They were created by a sculptor named Edwin Morris.
Current Use
For a long time, the South Building had both offices and laboratory spaces. However, the lab work has now moved to the Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. Today, the South Building is used only for offices.
Images for kids
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Edwin Morris relief panels on the windows at the rear of the building, facing C Street
