Old Post Office and Clock Tower
National Register of Historic Places

Old Post Office and Clock Tower

Washington, District of Columbia County, District of Columbia
Listed
April 10, 1973
Type
Building
Period
Early Republic
Ref No.
73002105

About this property

The Old Post Office, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Old Post Office and Clock Tower, is located at 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. in Washington, D.C. It is a contributing property to the Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site. It is adjacent to the Federal Triangle station on the Washington Metro. The building's 315-foot (96-meter) high clock tower houses the "Bells of Congress," and its observation level offers panoramic views of the city and its surroundings. The historic federal office building has been a hotel since 2016. Construction began in 1892 and was completed in 1899. The building is an example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture, popular in the late 19th-century United States. Its bell tower is the third tallest structure in Washington, D.C., excluding radio towers. It succeeded an earlier 1839 building, the General Post Office, which was built in Classical Revival style on F Street NW. It was used as the city's main General Post Office until 1914 at the beginning of World War I. The Pennsylvania Avenue landmark functioned primarily as a federal office building. It was nearly torn down during the construction of the surrounding Federal Triangle complex in the 1920s and 1930s, and 1970s. Instead, major renovations to The Old Post Office Building were made in 1976 and 1983. The 1983 renovation added to the office structure, a food court, a retail space, and a roof skylight over the building's central atrium. It was upon this rehabilitation that the building acquired the name of the Old Post Office Pavilion. A glass-walled annex on a former adjacent parking lot was added to the structure in 1991. In 2013, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) leased the property for 60 years to a consortium headed by "DJT Holdings LLC", a holding company that Donald Trump owns through a revocable trust. Trump developed the property into a luxury hotel, the Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C., which opened on September 12, 2016 and closed on May 11, 2022, after its sale to CGI Merchant Group. It reopened as the Waldorf Astoria Washington DC on June 1, 2022.

Location

Washington, District of Columbia County, District of Columbia
38.89410, -77.02767

Categories

ARCHITECTURESOCIAL HISTORY
National Register nomination ›
Sources

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.

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Old Post Office and Clock Tower

This page lists Old Post Office and Clock Tower. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with historic sites, battles and Native heritage plotted, and its full story era by era.
The Land
The historic sites and place names around the location, and how this land was settled and used.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back millions of years.
LiDAR Terrain
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks and old features hidden in the landscape.
Conflict & War
The battles, raids and skirmishes fought near here, across every era of American conflict.
The Civil War
The Civil War on this ground, 1861 to 1865: who held it, and the battles, camps and regiments nearby.
The Soldiers
The men who marched from here in the Civil War, named and traced where the record allows.
Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
Who claimed and held this ground, from Indigenous homelands through the colonial powers to the United States.
The Community
How the town grew, who came, and what kind of place it became, traced through the census record.
Rivers & Rail
The rivers, canals and railroads that connected this place between 1830 and 1911.
Notable People
The people born, buried or genuinely tied to this exact place, with their stories.
Historical Maps
Historic maps of the location layered over how it looks today.
Finds & Access
Museum objects tied to the area, and the laws on searching, collecting and access here.
Literature
The old books, county histories and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Points of Interest
The most significant historic sites and landmarks near the location, and why they matter.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from first peoples to the present day.
First month just $5.99, then $11.99 a month. Unlimited locations, cancel anytime.

Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

Start your Old Post Office and Clock Tower report
Or see a real report first

Nearby Historic Sites

Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site
Listed
0.1 mi
Ford's Theatre National Historic Site
Civil War
0.2 mi
Sun Building
Industrial
0.2 mi
District Building
Industrial
0.2 mi
PHILADELPHIA (gundelo)
Industrial
0.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Old Post Office and Clock Tower listed on the National Register?

Old Post Office and Clock Tower was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 10, 1973.

What type of historic resource is Old Post Office and Clock Tower?

Old Post Office and Clock Tower is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Old Post Office and Clock Tower?

The period of significance for Old Post Office and Clock Tower is recorded as the early_republic era.

Can I research the history near Old Post Office and Clock Tower?

Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Old Post Office and Clock Tower will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.

More in District of Columbia County

Historic places, battles, and census history across District of Columbia County.

Explore District of ColumbiaCounty ›

More historic places in District of Columbia

Browse all historic places in District of Columbia.

View District of Columbiahistoric sites ›

Conflict records

Explore 19,000+ military engagements across American history.

Browse US conflicts ›

District of Columbia history

Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.

District of Columbiahistory ›

Research the history near this site

An Aubrey US report for an address near Old Post Office and Clock Tower will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.

Research your locationView a free sample report