Central Heating Plant – Washington DC

Description

Description from General Services Administration Web site:

“The Central Heating Plant in Washington, D.C. was designed by the architect Paul Philippe Cret for the Procurement Division of the U.S. Treasury Department. The project was managed by James A. Wetmore, Acting Supervising Architect and Louis Simon, architect, both of the Procurement Divison. The cornerstone was laid in 1933, construction was completed and the plant commenced operation in 1934. The work of an important American architect whose aesthetic philosophies significantly affected Federal design, and as a carefully conceived and well-executed example of the Art Deco style, the Central Heating Plant is a significant representation of American industrial design from the 1930s.

The building was designed to serve as the main heating plant for all Federal buildings within Washington, D.C. At the cost of $5,749,000, it was the largest heating facility in the United States serving 22 Federal buildings and burning approximately 230 tons of coal a day. The facility’s siting at the northwest portion of its lot, left the remaining land area available for coal storage and for future extensions of the building. The addition of the Refrigeration Plant to the east of the main heating plant building was completed in 1957. In 1948, the construction of the West Heating Plant reduced the role of the Central Heating Plant by taking over responsibility for heating Federal buildings in the western section of Washington, D.C. Today, the facility works in conjunction with the West Heating Plant to provide heat for the majority of Federal Buildings in the Nations Capital.”