The original site of the John A. Wilson Building was a streetcar power station that had been destroyed by a fire in 1897. With the "Public Building Act" of 1902, the United States Congress authorized $550,000 for the purchase of the property and an additional $1.5 million for the construction of a new District municipal building. Previously, the D.C. government had been housed in the old District of Columbia City Hall, a historic neoclassical styled structure on Indiana Avenue, constructed 1822–1849 by George Hadfield. A competition held for the design of the new District Building called for "classic design in the manner of the English Renaissance". The Philadelphia firm of Cope and Stewardson won the contract and construction started in 1904. The building was dedicated on July 4, 1908 by Henry MacFarland,. While the building has continuously served as the municipal offices of the District's local government, the United States Department of War housed 200 visiting servicemen there during World War II. In 1977, twelve gunmen took about 150 people hostage at three sites around District of Columbia. During the crisis, later known as the 1977 Hanafi Siege, two of those gunmen held about a dozen hostages inside the council chambers on the fifth floor of the District Building. Then-councilman Marion Barry was hit by a stray bullet during the commotion, which left two others dead, including DC Protective Services Police Officer Wesley Cantrell. The press room at the Wilson Building is named in memory of Maurice Williams, a 24-year-old reporter who was killed during the attack. In 1995, two-thirds of the Wilson Building was leased to the federal government for a period of 20 years due to the district's inability to pay for needed repairs, during that time the district paid approximately $8 million per year to the General Services Administration to lease back the space. The district government was able to regain use of the entire building after the United States Congress approved funds for major renovations. The offices of Mayor Anthony Williams and DC Council were temporarily relocated to One Judiciary Square.
Exterior
The District Building was designed in the American Beaux Artsclassical revival style and takes up the entire block between 14th and 13 1/2th Streets NW, south of Pennsylvania Avenue across from Freedom Plaza. The base of the building is made of grey granite from Maine while the upper four stories are constructed of white marble from New York. The main entrance to the building features an eagle with outstretched wings surrounded by two sculptures representing "Justice" and "Law." The fifth story features alternating male and female sculptures of heroic figures that represent: sculpture, painting, architecture, music, commerce, engineering, agriculture, and statesmanship. In January 2005, the statue of Alexander Robey Shepherd, Governor of the District of Columbia from 1873 to 1874, was restored to its original location in front of the Wilson Building at the northwest corner. It had been removed in 1979 during the first year of Mayor Marion Barry's administration.
