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The ceremonial core · 42 photographs

The Treasury

The colonnaded Treasury Building on 15th Street, stage of the 1913 suffrage pageant.

A woman in a flowing costume with a shield stands on the steps of a colonnaded building
1913 Hedwig Reicher as Columbia on the Treasury steps, in the allegorical pageant staged during the 1913 suffrage procession.Bain News Service, Library of Congress · LOT 11052-2 <item> · No known restrictions on publication

History

The Treasury was built in stages between 1836 and 1869, from Robert Mills’s east wing, with its long Ionic colonnade on 15th Street, to the south, west and north wings of the 1850s and 1860s. Its position blocks the view straight down Pennsylvania Avenue between the Capitol and the White House.

Its broad steps made a natural stage. On March 3, 1913, while the suffrage procession marched up the avenue, an allegorical pageant was performed on the Treasury steps, and crowds gathered on 15th Street for news and celebrations.

What's there now

The building still houses the Department of the Treasury. A statue of Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary, was dedicated on the south side in 1923, and one of Albert Gallatin on the north side in 1947.

Then and now

The colonnade along 15th Street is unchanged. The street itself has lost its streetcars.

Photographs 42, oldest first

A long colonnaded building beyond a lawn
1900 The Treasury from the south, 1900.Detroit Publishing Company, Library of Congress · LC-D4-13013 · No known restrictions on publication
A long colonnaded building beside a street with streetcars
1906 The Treasury Building about 1906, with streetcars on 15th Street.Detroit Publishing Company, Library of Congress · LC-D4-19147 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
Mounted troops and carriages in front of the Treasury colonnade
June 8, 1912 The Columbus Memorial parade passes the Treasury, June 8, 1912.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F82- 289 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
Wooden stands in front of the Treasury's colonnade
1913 Inaugural stands built at the southeast corner of the Treasury, 1913.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 2162 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
A woman in a flowing costume with a shield stands on the steps of a colonnaded building
1913 Hedwig Reicher as Columbia on the Treasury steps, in the allegorical pageant staged during the 1913 suffrage procession.Bain News Service, Library of Congress · LOT 11052-2 <item> · No known restrictions on publication
Women in white robes posed on the broad steps of the Treasury Building
March 3, 1913 Performers in white robes in a tableau on the Treasury steps during the 1913 suffrage pageant.Bain News Service, Library of Congress · LC-B2- 2502-13 [P&P] LOT 11052-2 (Corresponding print) · No known restrictions on publication
A huge office with rows of women at desks counting money
1914 Clerks count and sort worn national bank notes for destruction in the Treasury's National Bank Redemption Agency, 1914.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F82- 408 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
A crowd of men in hats on the steps of a building, a large flag being raised
c. 1909–20 Officials gather on the Treasury steps with a crowd behind to raise the honour flag of the Third Liberty Loan.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F81- 4340 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
Tall columns and stone steps at left, the Washington Monument and flowering trees beyond
c. 1910–20 The Washington Monument seen past the Treasury's massive columns and steps, magnolias in bloom below.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H25- 899 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
Cars and a streetcar along a street beside a long columned building, an obelisk beyond
c. 1913–18 Motor cars and a streetcar line the street beside the long colonnade of the Treasury, with the Washington Monument in the distance. place probableHarris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 24031 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
An equestrian statue on a tall stepped pedestal, the Washington Monument behind
c. 1909–23 The Sherman monument in President's Park, with the Washington Monument rising beyond the trees.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F81- 231 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
Men in overalls marching with flags past a long colonnaded building, the Monument at left
1916 Workmen in overalls and caps carry flags past the Treasury's colonnade in the 1916 Preparedness Parade, the Washington Monument rising behind. place probableHarris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 2572 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
Rows of tall fluted columns receding toward a distant view of the Washington Monument
c. 1916–17 The Washington Monument framed at the end of the Treasury's long colonnade, around 1916.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F82- 1610 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
High view of a busy street corner with streetcars and crowds beside a colonnaded building
1917 Streetcars, motor cars and crowds fill the corner of 15th and G Streets beside the Treasury, seen from above in 1917.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LOT 12350-5 [item] [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
A dense crowd in front of a colonnaded government building
1917 Inaugural crowds pack 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue beside the Treasury, 1917. place probableHarris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 6109 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
A large billboard poster beside a stone building on a street
1917 A giant poster for the Second Liberty Loan, 1917. place probableHarris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 9541 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
A big crowd in front of trees, with a band in the foreground
1917 Crowds gather to hear Sousa's Navy band at a Liberty Loan rally, 1917. place probableHarris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 9588 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
Sacks piled with a flag before the Treasury's columns, people standing by
1917 Mail bags stuffed with Liberty Loan bond subscriptions piled outside the Treasury, 1917.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 9626 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
Children and women around a large model bell
1917 Children pose on a replica of the Liberty Bell for the Liberty Loan drive, 1917. place probableHarris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 9683 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
A woman in a Red Cross robe holding a stretcher in a draped stage on a building's steps
1917 A Red Cross tableau called "The Greatest Mother" is staged in a curtained frame on the south front of the Treasury, 1917.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 29850 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
A crowd around a tank in front of the Treasury's columns
1918 A British-built tank draws a crowd at the Treasury for the Liberty Loan drive, 1918.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 24276 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
A soldier on a round platform pointing with his arm, the columned Treasury behind
1918 A soldier stands on a traffic platform beside the Treasury in 1918, signalling to traffic beneath a sign for right-hand turns.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 29653 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
A man speaking from a balcony draped with American flags between big stone columns
1918 Treasury Secretary William Gibbs McAdoo speaks for the Liberty Loan from a flag-draped stand between great columns, beneath a sign reading "Miss Farrar will sell bonds". place probableHarris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 29692 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
Uniformed soldiers massed before a crowd filling the steps of a colonnaded building
1918 An Italian band and Italian troops at a Liberty Loan rally before a packed crowd on the Treasury steps, 1918.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 29713 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
A dense crowd of hats seen from above
1918 A vast crowd fills the street to hear the singer Ernestine Schumann-Heink at a Liberty Loan rally at the Treasury, 1918.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 29782 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
A large uniformed band massed in front of a colonnaded building with crowds around
1918 Sousa's band plays before a packed crowd at the colonnaded Treasury for the Fourth Liberty Loan drive, September 21, 1918. place probableHarris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 29686 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
High view of a busy intersection with streetcars, cars and pedestrians beside a colonnaded building
February 28, 1918 Streetcars, motor cars and crowds of pedestrians at 15th Street and New York Avenue beside the Treasury, February 28, 1918.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F81- 4101 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
Streetcar tracks torn up at a junction with a streetcar and the Treasury behind
c. 1919 A streetcar passes track work at Pennsylvania Avenue and F Street, looking toward the Treasury, about 1919.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LOT 12357-7 [item] [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
Horse-drawn lunch wagons and a car at the kerb with people gathered round them
c. 1918–20 Lunch vendors' wagons and a motor car draw a crowd of office workers outside the Treasury Annex around 1919.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F8- 4859 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
Men holding a large American flag on the steps of a colonnaded building
1919 Carter Glass and F. R. Wilson unfurl a great flag on the Treasury steps for the Victory Liberty Loan, 1919.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 30124 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
A figure in white posed between giant columns
1919 A tableau on the Treasury steps for the Victory Liberty Loan, 1919: a figure in white between the great columns.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 30611 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
A line of marching troops in front of a long columned building with spectators
1919 Marines march in a long line past the colonnade of the Treasury in 1919, spectators packed along its steps and the Washington Monument beyond. place probableHarris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 30788 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
Officers on horseback lead a parade past a long colonnade, crowds waving in front
1919 General Pershing leads the First Division past the Treasury's columns in 1919, mounted officers ahead of cheering crowds. place probableHarris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H261- 30911 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
A police wagon with officers and a mounted policeman before the Treasury
c. 1909–32 Policemen ride a horse-drawn patrol wagon past the south side of the Treasury.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LOT 12355-7 <item> [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
Men in top hats marching past a crowd before a long columned building hung with flags
c. 1912–30 Marchers pass a crowd massed beneath the flag-hung colonnade of the Treasury. place probableNational Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F81- 44134 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
The charred, collapsed roof of a large building, with men standing on it
1922 Men pick through the burned-out roof of the Treasury after its second fire in 1922.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H27- A-4393 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
Smoke drifting over rooftops seen from above
February 8, 1922 Smoke rises over the rooftops as firemen fight a fire at the Treasury, February 8, 1922. place probableNational Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LOT 12354-2 [item] [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
Old men marching with flags in front of the colonnaded Treasury
April 27, 1922 Civil War veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic march past the Treasury in the parade for the Grant Memorial, April 27, 1922.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LOT 12294, v. 4 [item] [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
A busy street with streetcars and cars seen from above beside a colonnade
1923 Streetcars and motor cars at 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue beside the Treasury, 1923.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F8- 25360 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
Two Marines in white uniforms with rifles on the steps of a columned building
August 7, 1925 Two Marines in dress whites stand guard on the Treasury steps during the Ku Klux Klan parade of August 7, 1925.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LC-F81- 36640 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
Men wheeling crates into an armoured truck
June 26, 1929 Guards load the new small-size currency into an armoured truck to carry it from the Bureau of Engraving to the Treasury, June 26, 1929.National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress · LOT 12299, v. 3 [item] [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication
Men gathered at a bronze statue in front of a columned building
January 1931 Secretary Andrew Mellon lays a wreath at the Hamilton statue outside the Treasury, January 1931.Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress · LC-H2- B-4413 [P&P] · No known restrictions on publication

Nearby: The White House and Lafayette Square · State, War and Navy Building · Seventeenth Street · Pennsylvania Avenue · The Washington Monument