Union Trust Building – Washington, DC
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 38° 53.992 W 077° 02.026
18S E 323636 N 4307630
Historic former bank building in the financial district in Washington, D. C.
Waymark Code: WMNYXF
Location: District of Columbia, United States
Date Posted: 05/26/2015
Views: 6
The Union Trust Building has held a monumental position in the city of Washington since its opening in 1907. Prominently sited in the heart of the Financial District, this banking house and office structure designed in the Neo-Classical Revival style by the noted Washington architectural firm of Wood, Donn and Deming is an excellent example of the classically inspired architecture that emerged at the turn of the century as part of the City Beautiful Movement. A product of both its time and the planning conditions unique to the nation's capital, it ably illustrates the influences of the federal presence on private design. The Union Trust Building is a key structure in the District of Columbia's Fifteenth Street Financial Historic District. But it holds even greater significance within the larger context of banking architecture, standing as physical evidence of the aspirations and realities of the financial world in the early 20th century. It represents a significant resolution of the design dilemma between architectural presence and financial profit that played a critical role in the development of American banking architecture at that time. The building has been altered twice (in 1927 and in 1989-83) without harm to its original architectural concepts. Today, it continues to display the original design, scale and intentions that embody the distinctive characteristics of an architectural style and building type critical to the development of banking architecture in this country.
The Union Trust Building also known as the First American Bank Building became the headquarters of the American Bar Association in 1994 – 95. The Bar Association remained in the building until 2013 when they moved to another building in Washington. At that time extensive renovations of the building were completed and is now a multi-use building mostly with offices.