J. Edgar Hoover Building

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The J. Edgar Hoover Building is the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The building, named for former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, is located at 935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. The FBI building is not open to the public; guided tours of the building were discontinued in 1999.

[edit] Planning

Since 1908, when the Bureau was part of the Department of Justice (as the Bureau of Investigation), the FBI had been headquartered in the Department of Justice Building. In April 1962, Congress approved the construction of a separate building for the FBI. The General Services Administration allocated funding for the project, and design began. The GSA appointed Berswenger, Hoch, Arnold, and Associates for engineering, and Charles F. Murphy and Associates as an architectural firm.

The design was finalized in 1964, and construction began on December 6, 1967. The naming was authorized by President Richard Nixon on May 4, 1972, two days after Hoover's death. Employees moved into the facility between June 28, 1974, and June 1977. President Gerald Ford officially dedicated the building on September 30, 1975.

[edit] Architecture

The building was constructed in a Brutalist architectural style, the entire exterior having been constructed from poured concrete. Like most Brutalist buildings, it has suffered criticism for aesthetics and functionality. Washingtonian magazine named it one of the "Buildings I'd Tear Down," along with the Kennedy Center. Elvis performed on the front steps of the building. [1]

According to the plans, the building contains 2,800,876 square feet (260,201 m²) of floor space for 7,090 employees. [2]