HISTORY

Glenn Brown, the architect of the National Union Building, was a writer and crusader for numerous causes as well as a prominent Washington, D.C. architect.

Born in Virginia and educated at Washington and Lee College, Brown worked briefly for N. G. Starkweather, a Washington, D.C. architect, before entering Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study architecture. Upon completion of his studies, he went to work for O. W. Norcross, H. H. Richardson's master builder.

During his lifetime Brown was best known as a crusader for numerous causes relating to the architectural profession and the city of Washington. Serving as Secretary of the American Institute of Architects from 1899 to 1913, he used this position to aggressively espouse the efforts of private architects to gain commissions for the design of federal buildings and for the establishment of an art commission to advise on the design of public buildings, sculpture and paintings. Brown became interested in the L'Enfant Plan for the city of Washington when writing his two-volume work on the history of the United States Capitol. At his instigation the AIA convention meeting in Washington in 1900 was devoted to the growth and development of the nation's capital. The papers delivered at this meeting stirred the interest of Senator James McMillan and led to the creation of the Senate Park Commission and the Commission's 1901 Plan for Washington.

The building was constructed in 1890 by the National Union Fire Insurance Company which at that time had its offices at 643 Louisiana Avenue, N.W. The firm moved into the building by 1891 (Boyd's Directory of the District of Columbia, 1891). They maintained ownership of the building until 1946 when it was sold to Arlene M. Andrick who immediately deeded it to 918 F Street Inc. In 1949 this corporation sold it to George Wasserman who held it until 1956 when it was purchased by George's Radio and Television, Inc. In 1966 the property was sold to Allan H. Saturn and in 1975 Saturn deeded the building along with the Atlantic Building at 930 F Street to Hood and Parsons Enterprise, Paul E, Parson, President. This firm sold the building to the present owners in November, 1978, Douglas Development.

Description of Exterior: The National Union Building is a long narrow rectangular structure, six stories high with a full basement, The building, which fronts on F Street has four bays and measures 26 feet 9 3/4 inches across and 159 feet 4 inches in depth. It completely fills the lot.

The building is of brick bearing wall and steel beam construction. The foundation is also brick, The facade and part of the west side are covered with Seneca sandstone, partly rock face and partly cut, and dark red in color. There is a pavilion roof on the front of the building and a single pitch roof over the remaining part, The roof covering is slate, Six interior ­end chimneys, two on the east side and four on the west, are constructed of brick.

Stylistically the building combines characteristics associated with both the Queen Anne and Richardsonian Romanesque styles popular at the time of its construction. Its inherent verticality, numerous projecting bays and textured wall surfaces strongly suggest the Queen Anne style, Its Richardsonian Romanesque character is reinforced by the rock faced facade punctured by ribbon like bands of windows and the use of foliated forms on capitals.

The various treatments afforded by the rows of windows divide the facade into three horizontal segments. The first segment is dominated by large arches which stretch across the entire facade on the second story level, framing two lunette windows. The arches are supported by three pilasters which originally flanked the entrance of the building. The original entrance remains; but an addition has been added to the western side of the facade to provide display windows. Above the entrance is a row of circular medallions featuring a six petalled motif with a center inlay of contrasting stone,

The second segment of the building encompasses the third and fourth floors and is marked by a curved four bay projection flanked by engaged columns capped by elaborate foliated capitals. Above the fourth floor the segmentation of the building is reinforced by a belt course of cut stone which carries the name of the building.

The third segment consists of rows of windows on the fifth and sixth floors. The lower row is unornamented and deeply set while the upper is richly elaborated and framed by round arches and flanked by engaged columns. This treatment is strongly suggestive of a similar one in the Allegany County Courthouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania designed by H. H. Richardson. Above the windows a row of narrow arched openings and a decorative stone cornice complete the facade.

The west side of the building borders on an alley. The rock faced sandstone of the facade turns the corner but gives way to red brick in the first of six projecting bays which extend out from the building over the side alley from the second through the sixth floors, where they are terminated by hipped slate roofs. The brick is stretcher bond with gauged brick lintel courses above the windows. The windowsills are a single slab of rock faced stone. A belt course with recessed brick panels runs along the west side and rear of the building below the cornice incorporating the lintel course above the sixth story windows.

The east side of the building is an unbroken brick wall.

Description of Interior: The vestibule of the building opens onto a long corridor which runs along the east side of the building. An open cage electric elevator and a wide metal stair case form a central core half way along the corridor dividing it into front and back sections. This same floor plan is followed on each floor. The walls and ceilings are painted plaster. The floors of the corridor are original tile.

Located in the old central core of the downtown area, the National Union Building is included in the Pennsylvania Avenue Historic Site. There are numerous historic landmarks in the surrounding region as well as both public and commercial buildings. 

The National Union Building is in the Ford's Theatre block bounded by F Street on the north, E Street on the south, and 9th and 10th Streets on the east and west. Ford's Theatre (HABS No. DC-82), which is a national historic site operated by the National Park Service, is located to the west of the National Union Building on 10th Street, The Riggs Bank located at the corner of 9th and F Streets is a District of Columbia Category II Landmark and is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Located to the east of the block is the National Portrait Gallery (HABS No, DC-130), the Old Masonic Temple Building (HABS No, DC-437) and the LeDroit Block (HABS No, DC-212), all of which are National Register properties. To the south of the block is the FBI Building. 

The National Union Building and the Atlantic Building (HABS No, DC-394), located three buildings away, are both District of Columbia Category III Landmarks. The Atlantic Building dates from 1887 and is constructed of red stone and brick, Twenty other buildings within the square also date from the nineteenth century, although few possess the architectural distinction of the National Union Building and many have been extensively remodeled or are in an extremely deteriorated condition, The National Union Building and the Atlantic Building are among the tallest of the buildings in the square and provide a strong visual force for the immediate area. 

This material was collated and edited for transmittal to the Library of Congress by Eleni Silverman, Architectural Historian, HABS, in June 1984 from documentation supplied by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in December 1978. 

The first modern elevators were all steam powered, moving at a slow pace that made them ineffective. People were also generally quite fearful of them in the mid-19th century as they were quite dangerous at first. 

Elisha Otis patented the safety break in 1853 and founded Otis Elevator in 1854 which reassured the public that elevators could be safe. He installed the first passenger elevator in the E.V. Haughwout Building in at 488 Broadway in Manhattan, NY. While this building still stands, the elevator has since been removed. 

In the 1880s the electric elevator came into being, patented by Alexander Miles of Duluth, Minnesota. Bates Elevator installed the first electric elevator in Washington, DC in the early 1880s in the Litwin Building on Indiana AVE NW. This elevator no longer functions but has been preserved by the Smithsonian. 

As Mr. Brown developed his design for a 6-story office building, he knew he wanted to design the whole building around this modern device which would speed office workers up to the highest floors. He contracted with A.B.SEE Elevator company in Brooklyn, NY to build his elevator, the first building in DC designed around one, opening in 1890. Our elevator was modernized mechanically in two phases in the 20th century, but the original car and cage remain. Arguably, therefore this is the oldest continually running electric elevator in the world. Our neighbors, The Riggs Hotel, founded as Riggs National Bank take 2nd place, opening in 1892. 

National Union Building served as LivingSocial's "experience" building from 2013 – 2014. 

Closed for business during the Covid-19 pandemic, the building reopened under new management in November of 2022 with Pirate Ventures, owners of Hook Hall, Kraken, Drink the District and Taste of DC, bringing full service private events back to the building once again.