About this property
The Central Heating Plant is a power station located at 325 13th Street, SW in the Southwest Federal Center neighborhood of Washington, D.C. which serves most of the United States federal government buildings near the National Mall. Operated by the General Services Administration, it was designed by architect Paul Philippe Cret in 1933. At the time of its construction it was the largest such heating facility in the United States and served 22 federal buildings. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. Cret used Art Deco styling for the essentially industrial building, a departure from the prevailing Washington classicism, but was able to integrate it with its surroundings through careful massing and detailing. Pilasters and vertical ribbons of windows stand in for classical colonnades. Cret designed the roof profile so that the plant's smokestacks did not project above the equipment screen, satisfying the concerns of the District of Columbia Commission on Fine Arts, which had jurisdiction over the design. The three octagonal smokestacks rise only 42 feet (13 m). Limestone relief panels illustrate the building's purpose with depictions of a boiler, safety valve, generator, fan and heat exchanger. The building is noteworthy as an early example of Modernism-influenced architecture, and as a notably attractive building in its own right. Originally designed to burn coal, the Central Heating Plant has been converted to use oil and natural gas. A central refrigeration plant constructed in 1957 obscures the east elevation. National Register of Historic Places listings in Southwest Quadrant, Washington, D.C. Media related to Central Heating Plant (Washington, D.C.) at Wikimedia Commons Central Heating Plant at the U.S. General Services Administration
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was Central Heating Plant listed on the National Register?
Central Heating Plant was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 5, 2007.
What type of historic resource is Central Heating Plant?
Central Heating Plant is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Central Heating Plant?
The period of significance for Central Heating Plant is recorded as the early_republic era.
Can I research the history near Central Heating Plant?
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