Make No Little Plans
— Federal Triangle Heritage Trail —
The imposing Ariel Rios Building opened in 1934 to house the U.S. Post Office Department. Architect William A. Delano, of the New York firm Delano and Aldrich, drew inspiration from Paris and other European cities to design the building's unusual hourglass shape. The building, including a ground-level arcade and a Parisian-inspired slate mansard roof, was intended to face a circular court planned to span 12th Street. The plan, however, required demolition of the Old Post Office. Its destruction was delayed, and eventually the Old Post Office gained landmark status, preventing completion of the circular court.
When this building was constructed, the Post Office Department was among the larger non-military employers in the nation. Postal service dates to 1775, when the Continental Congress, representing the 13 colonies, appointed Benjamin Franklin the first postmaster general. The ability of colonial military commanders to communicate by mail helped them defeat the British during the Revolution. In the new nation, postal service furthered democracy and growth by linking elected representatives with their constituents and businesses with their customers.
Although the Post Office Department became the U.S. Postal Service in 1971 and moved from the Federal Triangle, the building's plentiful inscriptions, sculptures, bas-reliefs, and evocative interior murals preserve its stories and mission of binding the nation together. The embellishments also remind viewers of the thousands of laborers, artists, and craftsmen who found much-needed work here during the Great Depression (1929-1941).
This building was later occupied by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and renamed to honor Special Agent Ariel Rios, who was killed in the line of duty. It now houses the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency headquarters.
(Back):You are standing in the Federal Triangle, a group of buildings whose grandeur symbolizes the power and dignity of the United States. Located between the White House and the Capitol, these buildings house key agencies of the U.S. Government.
The Federal Triangle is united by the use of neoclassical revival architecture, drawing from styles of ancient Greece and Rome that have influenced public buildings throughout the ages. Although each structure was designed for a specific government department or agency, they all share limestone fa?ades, red-tiled roofs and classical colonnades. Their architectural features, following traditions of the Parisian School of Fine Arts (?cole des Beaux-Arts), illustrate each building's original purpose. Most of the Federal Triangle was constructed between 1927 and 1938. However, the Old Post Office and the John A. Wilson Building survive from an earlier era, while the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center was not completed until 1998.
In 1791 Pierre L'Enfant designed a city plan for the new cpaital in Washington under the direction of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. The L'Enfant Plan overlaid broad avenues on a street grid with areas reserved for prominent buildings and parks. This area originally followed L'Enfant's vision as a center for businesses serving the municipal and federal governments. By the time of the Civil War (1861-1865), it had become a hodgepodge of boarding houses, stables, and light industry. This disarray, and the growing need for government office space, led to calls for redevelopment. In 1901 the Senate Park Commission, known as the McMillan Commission, created a new plan for Washington's parks and monumental areas and redefined the Triangle as a government center. In 1926 Congress authorized a massive building program that drew inspiration from classical architecture to create today's monumental Federal Triangle.
Make No Little Plans: Federal Triangle Heritage Trail is an Official Washington, D.C. Walking Trail. The self-guided, 1.75-mile tour of 16 signs offers about one hour of gentle exercise. Its theme comes from "Make no little plans, they have no magic to stir men's blood. Make big plans," attributed to visionary Chicago architect Daniel Burnham, chair of the McMillan Commission.
For more information on Federal Triangle buildings, please visit www.gsa.gov. For more information on DC neighborhoods and walking tours, please visit www.CulturalTourismDC.org.
Make No Little Plans: Federal Triangle Heritage Trail is produced by the U.S. General Services Administration in collaboration with the District Department of Transportation and Cultural Tourism DC.
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