Federal Triangle

The Federal Triangle, in Washington

The Federal Triangle is a great complex of monumental buildings that shelter the administrations of the government of the United States. The Washington audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this major urbanistic ensemble, witness of the architectural ambition of the capital in the twentieth century.

The great ensemble of the administrations

On the right is a great complex of several buildings that constitute what is called the Federal Triangle. As its name indicates, this ensemble draws a triangle, delimited by the Pennsylvania Avenue, the Constitution Avenue and the 15th Street, between the White House and the Capitol. It was laid out in the 1920s and 1930s within the framework of a great urbanistic project intended to endow the capital with a monumental administrative district, worthy of a great nation, and to replace a then degraded sector. There a series of imposing official buildings of neoclassical style were erected, harmonious and coherent, adorned with columns, pediments and interior courtyards, that shelter numerous ministries and agencies of the federal government, like the National Archives. This ensemble illustrates the grandiose urbanism wanted for Washington, conceived as a capital symbol of the American power and institutions. Walking its avenues lined with solemn buildings, you measure the scale of this vision. A monumental ensemble and an administrative heart, the Federal Triangle is a fine stop of the discovery of Washington.

What to see

Here you discover the great complex of buildings in the shape of a triangle, between the White House and the Capitol, laid out in the 1920s and 1930s to endow the capital with a monumental administrative district; its imposing neoclassical buildings, adorned with columns and pediments, shelter ministries and agencies of the federal government, including the National Archives, illustrating the grandiose urbanism wanted for Washington. The Federal Triangle is an administrative heart of Washington. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Federal Triangle lies between the Pennsylvania Avenue, the Constitution Avenue and the 15th Street, between the White House and the Capitol, in Washington, reachable on foot and by public transport. You admire its façades from the avenues; the official buildings have their own conditions of access. You discover it during a walk in the district.

What is the Federal Triangle in Washington?

A great complex of buildings in the shape of a triangle, between the White House and the Capitol, laid out in the 1920s and 1930s to endow the capital with a monumental administrative district; its imposing neoclassical buildings adorned with columns shelter ministries and agencies of the federal government, including the National Archives, illustrating the grandiose urbanism wanted for Washington.

Where is the Federal Triangle in Washington?

Between the White House and the Capitol, in Washington, in the United States.