preface
Few architectural organizations have enjoyed the scope and durabil-
ity of the Office of the Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury
Department. Between the mid-nineteenth century and the end of the
1930s, the Office designed numerous federal government buildings
that were located in the nation s capital city, Washington, D.C., and
in thousands of communities nationwide. Despite its great longevity,
the Office was as artistically vigorous and prolific near the end of its
existence in the late 1930s as it was at its inception in the early 1850s.
The Office developed within the U.S. Treasury Department be-
cause that agency collected the customs duties and other fees, and it
seemed natural that the same department should handle the design
of the edifices that housed its functions. As the federal government s
role evolved, the addition of other federal government agency and
bureau activities to these buildings seemed a logical step. By the end
of the Depression era, when federal government responsibilities
had increased markedly, the Office was moved out of the Treasury
Department and into a public works agency.
The Office took root in a period when the architectural profession
was only barely defined. The Office employed government architects
who undertook the design of federal government buildings and were
compensated with civil service salaries. The Office grew to promi-
nence as private architects became organized into a powerful lobby-