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Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium

Coordinates:38°53′33.4″N77°1′46.91″W/ 38.892611°N 77.0296972°W/38.892611; -77.0296972
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Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium
Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in February 2020
Facade of the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in 2020
Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium is located in Central Washington, D.C.
Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium
Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium
Location within Central Washington, D.C.
Former namesDepartmental Auditorium
Address14th Street,andConstitution Avenue,NW
Washington, D.C.
United States
Coordinates38°53′33.4″N77°1′46.91″W/ 38.892611°N 77.0296972°W/38.892611; -77.0296972
Public transitFederal Triangle station
OwnerGeneral Services Administration
OperatorRidgewells Catering
TypeAuditorium
Capacity1,000
Construction
Built1934
Opened25 February 1935(1935-02-25)
Rebuilt2000
ArchitectArthur Brown, Jr.
Website
eventsatmellon.com
Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium
Architectural styleClassical Revival
Part ofPennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site(ID66000865[1])

TheAndrew W. Mellon Auditorium(originally named theDepartmental Auditorium) is a 750-seat[2]historicNeoclassicalauditoriumlocated at 1301Constitution AvenueNW inWashington, D.C.The auditorium, which connects two wings of theWilliam Jefferson Clinton Federal Building,is owned by theU.S. governmentbut available for use by the public.

Description

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Aerial view of the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, among other buildings, in theFederal Triangle.TheNational Museum of American Historyis in the foreground.

San Francisco-based AmericanarchitectArthur Brown, Jr.designed the auditorium as well as the two buildings adjacent to it.[3]The architectural style of the building is Neoclassical,[4]as are all the buildings in theFederal Triangledevelopment.[3][5]Theporticoof the Auditorium provides the motif for the two buildings which are on either side of it.[6]SixDoriccolumns form the auditorium's portico.[4]Over the portico is apedimenttitled "Columbia", by Edgar Walter.[6]The sculpture on the pediment depictsColumbia(the feminine personification of theUnited States) seated on a throne-like chair, an eagle on her right, a nude youth on her left, and the rays of the sun spreading out behind her.[6]Behind the portico, a second pediment sits over an archway which leads to thecolonnade.This sculpture, byEdmond Romulus Amateis,depictsGeorge Washingtonat theBattle of Trenton.[7]The interior is in theBeaux Artsstyle.[8]The interior lighting was designed by Brown, and consists of brass and aluminum chandeliers overhead and aluminum and gold leaf bracket lamps on the walls.[9]The ceiling was originally painted blue.[10]

Colonnades link the auditorium to the buildings to the east and west, andgalleriesin the Auditorium's rear provide interior passages to these buildings as well. The galleries have received much praise. One critic noted, "The open galleries linking the auditorium to its neighbors constitute one of the greatest passages in American architecture."[11]

The entire structure has been called "one of the most magnificent auditoriums in the country."[12]

Construction

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The building was constructed as part of theFederal Triangledevelopment.[3][5]Although plans to redevelop theslumMurder Bayhad existed for decades, Congress did not fund the purchase of land or construction of buildings in the area until 1926.[3][5]In July 1926, the government proposed building aDepartment of Labor Buildingbetween 13th and 14th Streets NW on the north side of B Street NW (now Constitution Avenue NW).[13]In March 1927, the government proposed adding a second building to the east (between 12th and 13th Streets NW) for "Independent Offices" (the building's purpose was later changed to be the headquarters of theInterstate Commerce Commission,or ICC).[14]Design work proceeded slowly.[3][5]In April 1930,PresidentHerbert Hooverproposed building a $2 million "Departmental Auditorium" to connect the Labor and ICC buildings.[15]

President Hoover laid the cornerstones for the Labor/ICC building on December 15, 1932.[16]Freemasonstrained inmasonryassisted the President in laying the cornerstones.[16]Hoover personally oversaw the dedication of the cornerstone at the Labor end of the building. His words were broadcast over loudspeaker to the workers at the ICC end of the structure, who placed the ICC cornerstone simultaneously at the President's instruction (becoming the first time in Washington history that a single person dedicated two cornerstones at the same time).[16]William Green,President of theAmerican Federation of Labor(AFL), attended the laying of the cornerstone for the Labor building.[16]

The Labor/ICC building and Departmental Auditorium were dedicated on February 25, 1935.[17]Secretary of LaborFrances Perkinsdedicated the $4.5 million Labor building at a ceremony attended by AFL President Green.[17][18]The ICC portion of the structure cost $4.45 million.[19]The dedications occurred in the Auditorium, and constituted the first event ever held there.[20]

History

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Several important events in American and world history have occurred in the Mellon Auditorium. PresidentFranklin D. Rooseveltannounced the re-institution ofconscriptionin 1940 from the Auditorium stage.[21]The signing of theNorth Atlantic Treatythat establishedNATOoccurred in the Auditorium on April 4, 1949.[22]PresidentBill Clintonsigned theNorth American Free Trade Agreementthere in 1994.[23]The9/11 Commissionreleased its findings in the Auditorium in 2004.[24]Much of the2020 Republican National Conventiontook place in the Auditorium.[25]

TheU.S. Environmental Protection Agencytook occupancy of the Labor/ICC building in 2002,[26]and the complex was renamed theWilliam J. Clinton Federal Buildingin 2013.[27]The Departmental Auditorium was renamed the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in 1987[28]to honorSecretary of the TreasuryAndrew W. Mellon,who oversaw the development of the Federal Triangle construction project and plans for the Departmental Auditorium.[3][5][29]

The Mellon Auditorium was listed in theNational Register of Historic Placesas acontributing propertyto thePennsylvania Avenue National Historic Sitein 1966.[20]It was renovated and restored in 2000.[30]

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  • Front entrance on Constitution Avenue Looking NW
    Front entrance on Constitution Avenue Looking NW
  • Lantern on the façade
    Lantern on the façade
  • Looking at a side doorway and reception room
    Looking at a side doorway and reception room
  • Looking at the stage and auditorium from the rear balcony
    Looking at the stage and auditorium from the rear balcony
  • Looking at the entrance to the auditorium from the stage
    Looking at the entrance to the auditorium from the stage
  • Looking up at the decorated ceiling at the side of the auditorium
    Looking up at the decorated ceiling at the side of the auditorium
  • The North Atlantic Council convening in the Mellon Auditorium in 1999
    TheNorth Atlantic Councilconvening in the Mellon Auditorium in 1999
  • Celebration of the 75th anniversary of NATO on the 9th of July 2024
    Celebration of the 75th anniversary ofNATOon the 9th of July 2024

References

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  1. ^"National Register Information System".National Register of Historic Places.National Park Service.April 15, 2008.
  2. ^"AWMA Capacities".Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-09-03.Retrieved2011-09-06.
  3. ^abcdefGutheim, Frederick Albert and Lee, Antoinette Josephine.Worthy of the Nation: Washington, DC, From L'Enfant to the National Capital Planning Commission.2d ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006.ISBN0-8018-8328-8
  4. ^abApplewhite, E.J.Washington Itself: An Informal Guide to the Capital of the United States.New York: Knopf, 1981.ISBN0-394-74875-1
  5. ^abcdeBednar, Michael J.L'Enfant's Legacy: Public Open Spaces in Washington.Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006.ISBN0-8018-8318-0
  6. ^abcGoode, James M.The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C.: A Comprehensive Historical Guide.Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974.ISBN0-87474-138-6
  7. ^Ovason, David.The Secret Architecture of Our Nation's Capital: The Masons and the Building of Washington.Reprint ed. New York: HarperCollins, 2002.ISBN0-06-095368-3
  8. ^Wurman, Richard Saul.Washington, DC Access.3d ed. New York: Access Press, 1992.ISBN0-06-277039-X
  9. ^Tompkins, Sally Kress and Boucher, Jack E.A Quest for Grandeur: Charles Moore and the Federal Triangle.Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993.ISBN1-56098-161-X
  10. ^Look, David W. and Perrault, Carole L.The Interior Building: Its Architecture and Its Ar.Washington, D.C.: National Park Service, 1986.
  11. ^Wilson, Richard Guy. "Arthur Brown, Jr., California Classicist."Progressive architecture.December 1983.
  12. ^Goode, James M.The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C.: A Comprehensive Historical Guide.Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, p. 168.ISBN0-87474-138-6
  13. ^"4 Sites Selected for U.S. Buildings in Local Program."Washington Post.July 8, 1926.
  14. ^Whitaker, Charles B. "Building for the Glory of Washington."New York Times.March 6, 1927.
  15. ^"Hoover Urges Funds For Six New Buildings."Washington Post.April 23, 1930.
  16. ^abcd"Hoover Lays Stone of Labor Building."New York Times.December 16, 1932.
  17. ^ab"Capital Dedicates New Labor Edifice."New York Times.February 26, 1935.
  18. ^"Work On New I.C.C. Structure Nearing."Washington Post.April 21, 1931; "Firm Here Enters Low Bid on Razing."Washington Post.May 21, 1931.
  19. ^"Capitol Triangle At Last Completed."Associated Press.August 4, 1935.
  20. ^abWheeler, Linda. "A Gilded Setting for a Golden Summit."Washington Post.April 23, 1999.
  21. ^"Stimson Will Draw First Number In Draft Lottery at Noon Oct. 29."New York Times.October 22, 1940.
  22. ^"Russians May See Signing Of the Pact if They Wish."New York Times.April 1, 1949; Lawrence, W.H. "12 Powers Charge Russians Distort Defensive Treaty."New York Times.April 3, 1949; "Acheson Sees Pact As Bolstering U.N."New York Times.April 3, 1949; "Dedication for Peace."New York Times.April 5, 1949;Apple, R.W. "How the Midwives of NATO Prevailed."New York Times.April 23, 1999.
  23. ^MacArthur, John R.The Selling of "Free Trade": NAFTA, Washington, and the Subversion of American Democracy.Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press, 2001.ISBN0-520-23178-3
  24. ^Kean, Thomas H. and Hamilton, Lee H.Without Precedent: The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission.Reprint ed. New York: Random House, Inc., 2007.ISBN0-307-27663-5;Felzenberg, Alvin S.Governor Tom Kean: From the New Jersey Statehouse to the 9-11 Commission.New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 2006.ISBN0-8135-3799-1
  25. ^Kilgore, Ed (August 14, 2020)."Most Republican Convention Speeches Will Be Delivered From D.C."Intelligencer.
  26. ^"Environmental Protection Agency, Wast Building, Washington, DC".Real Estate / Explore Historic Buildings.U.S. General Services Administration.Retrieved2017-07-10.
  27. ^Volcovici, Valerie (2013-07-17)."EPA renames headquarters after former President Clinton".Reuters.
  28. ^Sec. 9, Pub. L. 100-113, August 21, 1987; 101 Stat. 746.ArchivedJanuary 6, 2010, at theWayback Machine
  29. ^Cannadine, David.Mellon: An American Life.Reprint ed. New York: Random House, Inc., 2008.ISBN0-307-38679-1
  30. ^Moeller, Gerard Martin and Weeks, Christopher.AIA Guide to the Architecture of Washington, D.C.4thed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006.ISBN0-8018-8468-3
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