Executive

The southern facade of the Old Executive Office Building.
The north, east, and west facades are the same.

This is the Old Executive Office Building on 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. This building houses White House staff and includes the Office of the Vice President of the United States. It is next door to the White House and adjacent the West Wing. Built between 1871 and 1888, it originally housed the Departments of State, War, and Navy. The architecture is "one of America's best examples of the French Second Empire style." At the time it was built, the Executive Office Building was the largest office building in the world and the largest granite structure in America; the latter, a distinction it maintains to this day. The building barely escaped demolition in 1957 and has since been renovated and preserved. The official name of the building is now the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 11/07.