Page "Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site" Paragraph 16

Limited attempts to transform the area by eliminating crime and encouraging upscale economic development occurred from 1890 to 1910.

Congress approved the construction of a new, 12-story Romanesque Revival headquarters for the Post Office Department ( to include a new central post office for the District of Columbia as well ) in 1880.

The building was designed to spur economic development in Murder Bay.

Construction on the Post Office Building began in 1892 and was completed in 1899.

At the time of its completion, the Post Office Building contained the largest uninterrupted enclosed space in the city.

It was also the city's first building to have a steel frame structure, and the first to be built with electrical wiring incorporated into its design.

Unfortunately, the anticipated economic development never occurred.

In 1899, the Washington Board of Trade, a local organization of business leaders, proposed clearing Murder Bay of its existing structures and building government office buildings in the area.

Spurred by the centennial of the transfer of the seat of government from Philadelphia to the District of Columbia, in 1900 the United States Congress formed the Senate Park Commission ( also known as the " McMillan Commission " after its chair, Senator James McMillan ) to reconcile competing visions for the development of Washington, D. C., and especially Pennsylvania Avenue, the National Mall, and nearby areas.

The Commission's plan for development, the McMillan Plan, proposed beautifying Pennsylvania Avenue and placing new government office buildings along a new " Centennial Avenue " to run the length of the National Mall.