United Mine Workers Of America Building
Description and history
The former United Mine Workers of America Building is located in downtown Washington, at the northwest corner of "I" and 15th Streets NW. One facade faces east toward McPherson Square across 15th Street, the other toward I Street. It is a six-story masonry structure, with a frame of steel and terra cotta blocks and an exterior facing of brick, limestone and bluestone. It is essentially Renaissance Revival in style, with tall rounded-arch windows on the second level, which serves as a piano nobile. The first two levels are finished in limestone, the ground floor with a rusticated finish, while the upper floors are mainly clad in buff brick.
The building was originally constructed in 1912 as a five-story building to a design by George Totten, for the University Club, a private social club whose membership included many of the leading men in the city. At that time the second level was primarily a large social space, and the upper floors housed private rooms for the membership. In 1936, the club sold the building to the UMW. It restyled the interior of the building, converting the second floor into a series of meeting spaces and the office of the union president, while the upper levels were used for offices. It also added the sixth floor, removing an elaborate cornice in the process. The UMW vacated the building in 1999, and it has since been adapted for use as a primarily residential space, in part by connecting it to adjoining buildings.
The building's historic significance comes mainly from its role as the UMW headquarters. The union was a major in lobbying for labor-friendly legislation during the New Deal years, and its president, John L. Lewis, was influential in broader labor organizing, founding the CIO in 1935 when the American Federation of Labor refused to support the organization of semi-skilled laborers. Lewis served as the UMW president from 1920 until 1960.
See also
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Washington, D.C.
- National Register of Historic Places listings in central Washington, D.C.
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ "United Mine Workers of America". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
- ^ Judith H. Robinson; Tim Kerr; Susan Cianci Salvatore (April 30, 2003). "National Historic Landmark Nomination: United Mine Works of America Building / University Club, Summit Grand Parc" (pdf). National Park Service.
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External links
- Media related to United Mine Workers of America Building at Wikimedia Commons