The U.S. Department of Agriculture Administration Building, also known as the Jamie L. Whitten Building, houses the administrative offices of the

U.S. Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of comme ...

in Washington, D.C. The Administration Building projects into the

National Mall The National Mall is a landscaped park near the downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institution, art galleries, cultural institutions, and va ...

from the larger U.S. Department of Agriculture South Building, and is the only building on the Mall that is not intended for use by the general public. It was the first large Beaux-Arts style building in Washington and set the prototype for the later buildings of the

Federal Triangle The Federal Triangle is a triangular area in Washington, D.C. formed by 15th Street NW, Constitution Avenue NW, Pennsylvania Avenue NW, and E Street NW. Federal Triangle is occupied by 10 large city and federal office buildings, all of which a ...

. The east and west wings were the first Federal office buildings to be built of

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low ultimate tensile strength, tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion ...

.(1) .
(2) . The Whitten Building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1974.

History

The placement of the new building on the Mall was at odds with the proposed

McMillan Plan The McMillan Plan (formally titled The Report of the Senate Park Commission. The Improvement of the Park System of the District of Columbia) is a comprehensive planning document for the development of the monumental core and the park system of Wa ...

, which envisioned a Mall free of intrusive buildings. The Agriculture Department's proposed placement was opposed by Commission members

Daniel Burnham Daniel Hudson Burnham (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the '' Beaux-Arts'' movement, he may have been, "the most successful power broker the American architectural profession has ...

and Charles McKim. After a series of intercessions by President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

the building was moved to be in accordance with the Plan, but only after foundations were in place for a building to the east of the final location. As the public face of the Department of Agriculture, the

Beaux-Arts style Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorporat ...

Administration Building was designed by architects Rankin, Kellogg and Crane to a higher standard than the South Building. However, a limited budget enforced a comparative plainness when set against other buildings on the Mall. The L-shaped wings were completed between 1904 and 1908, but the central block was not finished until 1930. The prototype for the design was

Ange-Jacques Gabriel Ange-Jacques Gabriel (23 October 1698 – 4 January 1782) was the principal architect of King Louis XV of France. His major works included the Place de la Concorde, the École Militaire, and the Petit Trianon and opera theater at the Palace of V ...

's 1774 Hôtel de la Marine on the

Place de la Concorde The Place de la Concorde () is one of the major public squares in Paris, France. Measuring in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées. ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. The pediment features sculpture by

Adolph Alexander Weinman Adolph Alexander Weinman (December 11, 1870 – August 8, 1952) was a Germany-born American sculptor and architectural sculptor. Early life and education Adolph Alexander Weinman was born December 11, 1870 at Durmersheim, near Karlsruhe, Ge ...

, while interior murals are by Gilbert White. While the earlier east and west wings featured reinforced concrete construction, the central portion was built in steel. The building was named the Jamie L. Whitten building in 1995 in honor of

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

Congressman

Jamie L. Whitten Jamie Lloyd Whitten (April 18, 1910September 9, 1995) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who represented the Deep South state of Mississippi in the United States House of Representatives from 1941 to 1995. He was at the ...

, former chairman of the

United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies The House Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies is a standing subcommittee within the House Appropriations Committee. The United States House Committee on Appropriations and the United St ...

. File:USDA1web.jpg, Administration Building, File:Jamie L. Whitten Building.jpg, Façade of the building with

Corinthian column The Corinthian order ( Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...

s File:20111110-OC-AMW-002 - Flickr - USDAgov.jpg, A Department of Agriculture employee uses a mule-drawn tiller to plant a new lawn, 1931

Linking bridges

In 1936 bridges were built across Independence Avenue to link the wings to the South Building. The single-span stone arches form a dramatic accent on Independence Avenue. The

soffit A soffit is an exterior or interior architectural feature, generally the horizontal, aloft underside of any construction element. Its archetypal form, sometimes incorporating or implying the projection of beams, is the underside of eaves (t ...

s of the bridges are faced with

Guastavino tile The Guastavino tile arch system is a version of Catalan vault introduced to the United States in 1885 by Spanish architect and builder Rafael Guastavino (1842–1908). It was patented in the United States by Guastavino in 1892. Description ...

. The east bridge is dedicated to Seaman A. Knapp, while the west bridge commemorates Agriculture Secretary

James Wilson James Wilson may refer to: Politicians and government officials Canada *James Wilson (Upper Canada politician) (1770–1847), English-born farmer and political figure in Upper Canada * James Crocket Wilson (1841–1899), Canadian MP from Quebe ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Office buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Neoclassical architecture in Washington, D.C. Beaux-Arts architecture in Washington, D.C. Government buildings completed in 1908 Office buildings completed in 1908 National Mall Office buildings in Washington, D.C. 1908 establishments in Washington, D.C.