United States Department of Agriculture Building, Federal administrative building on Independence Avenue SW, Washington DC, United States.
The United States Department of Agriculture Building is a large federal administrative structure located on Independence Avenue SW in Washington DC. It covers an extensive footprint with approximately 4500 rooms connected through miles of interior corridors.
The structure was completed in 1936 and was the world's largest office building at that time until Pentagon construction began in 1942. It emerged as a symbol of federal expansion during the economic crisis of the 1930s.
The building displays sixteen Corinthian columns at its entrance and relief panels showing native American animals carved by sculptor Edwin Morris. These artistic elements shape the appearance and signal the institution's connection to nature and farming.
The seven-story structure now primarily houses administrative offices, as laboratory operations were relocated to a research center in Beltsville, Maryland. It offers a chance to experience the architecture and scale of a major federal facility.
The construction uses approximately 12 million bricks and roughly 11000 kilometers of steel beams in its structure. The combination of limestone, glazed terra cotta, and variegated brickwork demonstrates an unusual building method for such a massive structure of its era.
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