Pan American Union Building | |
Location | 17th Street NW between C Street NW and
Constitution Avenue, NW. Washington, D.C. |
---|---|
Coordinates | 38°53′34″N 77°02′25″W / 38.89288°N 77.04026°W |
Built | 1908–1910 |
Architect | Paul P. Cret and Albert Kelsey |
NRHP reference No. | 69000298, 10000625 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | 4 June 1969 |
Designated NHL | 13 January 2021 |
The Pan American Union Building is the headquarters for the Organization of American States. It is located at 17th Street N.W. between C Street N.W. and Constitution Avenue, Northwest, Washington, D.C. [1]
On the former site of the John Peter Van Ness Mansion. The cornerstone was laid on May 11, 1908, by Theodore Roosevelt, Elihu Root, and Andrew Carnegie [2] (who largely financed the building's construction), and the building was dedicated on April 26, 1910. [3]
In 1919, the initial meeting of the International Labour Organization was held in the building. [4]
Between 1921 and 1922, the building was used for committee and subcommittee hearings throughout the Washington Naval Conference while closely guarded by marines with fixed bayonets. [5]
The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2021, for its architecture and its role in international diplomacy.