Ronald Reagan Building – History

The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, named after former United States President Ronald Reagan, is located in downtown Washington, D.C. It was the first federal building in Washington designed for both governmental and private sector purposes.

Completed in 1997, the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and International Trade Center is the second largest government building in the country. It has a 3.1 million square feet of office space on an 11 acre site.

Ronald Reagan Building is Bounded by Constitution Avenue, 15th Street, and Pennsylvania Avenue it is often termed “America’s Main Street”. The Federal Triangle occupies the area between the White House and U.S. Capitol.

The Ronald Reagan Building is located near the Federal Triangle Station in Washington, D.C., an area once heavily populated with saloons and brothels. The federal government purchased the land in the 1920s.

Later the government used the area known as the “Great Plaza” as a massive downtown parking lot.

Ronald Reagan Building – Construction

Plans for construction of an office building on the Federal Triangle parking lot site found support in 1986.

The Federal City Council, a private civic organization which had been promoting the construction of a $200 million international trade center in the District of Columbia, advocated construction of its proposed building at Federal Triangle.  

Later Reagan administration officials favored the plan. In October 1986 the proposal received the backing of the General Services Administration.

Preliminary design specifications required that the final building be no taller than the existing Federal Triangle structures. The designer constructed the building of similar materials, emphasize pedestrian traffic, and have a “sympathetic” architectural style.

Ronald Reagan Building’s Groundbreaking on the now-$350 million building was scheduled for 1989, and completion in 1993.

Later Ronald Reagan Building opened on May 5, 1998. President Bill Clinton and former First Lady Nancy Reagan dedicated the building.

The conference center hosts over 1,200 events each year, including many of Washington’s annual social galas such as the Washington International Trade Association’s Annual Dinner.

The International Trade Center offers two large ballrooms, exhibition space, pre-function space, and other reception spaces. The outdoor, four-acre Woodrow Wilson Plaza is also used in special events and galas.

Ronald Reagan Building is the city’s largest parking garage, information center, and a metro rail station. Over one million tourists the visited the building each year.

The summer concert series held on the Woodrow Wilson Plaza. The Plaza the many food options draw many to the building during the lunch hour.

In early 2015, the General Services Administration announced that the interior spaces of the Reagan Building had “reached the anticipated end of life cycle in nearly all areas of finishes, carpets, furniture, fixtures and equipment”. Later It began seeking contractors to extensively renovate the structure