Corcoran Hall is an academic building on the campus of

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , presi ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

It was listed on the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites in 1987 and the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

in 1991.

History

Corcoran Hall was the first building built on the university's

Foggy Bottom Foggy Bottom is one of the oldest late 18th- and 19th-century neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., located west of the White House and downtown Washington, in the Northwest quadrant. It is bounded roughly by 17th Street NW to the east, Rock C ...

campus. The building was designed by architects

Albert L. Harris Albert L. Harris (1869 – February 24, 1933) was an American architect who worked primarily in Washington, D.C. He was born in Wales and emigrated to the United States as a young child. He worked for architectural firms in Chicago and Baltimo ...

and

Arthur B. Heaton Arthur B. Heaton (November 12, 1875–December 6, 1951) was an American architect from Washington, D.C. During his 50-year career Heaton designed over 1,000 commissions, including many notable buildings listed on the National Register of Hist ...

in the

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archi ...

style. It was dedicated on October 28, 1924, and named after

William Wilson Corcoran William Wilson Corcoran (December 27, 1798 – February 24, 1888) was an American banker, philanthropist, and art collector. He founded the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Early life Corcoran was born on December 27, 1798, in Georgetown in the ...

, who was President of the Trustees and benefactor of the university. Nuclear physicist

George Gamow George Gamow (March 4, 1904 – August 19, 1968), born Georgiy Antonovich Gamov ( uk, Георгій Антонович Гамов, russian: Георгий Антонович Гамов), was a Russian-born Soviet and American polymath, theore ...

both taught and did research in the building from 1934 to 1956. The

bazooka Bazooka () is the common name for a man-portable recoilless anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the "stovepipe", the innovative bazooka was among th ...

was developed in the basement during World War II. The physics department is now housed in the building.

Architecture

The Colonial Revival building is a four-story structure with a concrete and steel frame. The exterior is covered in red brick laid in

Flemish bond Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called '' courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by si ...

and trimmed in

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

. The rectangular structure is wide and deep. The main entrance to the building is in the center of the main facade and is flanked by four segmental arched windows on each side. The upper stories are similarly symmetrical with rectangular windows. A simple

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

frames the top of the building. A

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, fr ...

tops the structure.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Buildings and structures completed in 1924 University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Colonial Revival architecture in Washington, D.C. George Washington University buildings and structures Foggy Bottom Corcoran family 1924 establishments in Washington, D.C.

History

Architecture

See also

References