National Archives Building: Completion and Expansion - Washington DC The National Archives building was substantially completed under the New Deal and the central stacks were added with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA).
In 1926, Congress approved $8.7 million for a home for the National Archives. The Public Buildings Commission and Commission on Fine Arts had to approve the site and design, which led to much jostling over where it would fit within the larger plans for a "Federal Triangle" in the center of the city. As a result, the site was moved twice before the architect, John Russell Pope, was officially appointed by Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon and...