Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Wilbur J Cohen Federal Building, Washington DC

Wilbur J Cohen Federal Building, Washington DC

Originally built as the Social Security Board Building in 1939 (designed by Louis A Simon, Supervising Architect and Charfles Z Klauder, Consulting Architect) this large Federal building in Washington DC went through a series of name changes as various health-related departments became tenants until 1988 when the building was named in honour of the first professional employee of the Social Security Board and the former Secretary of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW), Wilbur J Cohen.

Wilbur J Cohen Federal Building, Washington DC

The four main entrances bear reliefs related to some aspect of Social Security.

North Entrance, Wilbur J Cohen Federal Building, Washington DC

The north entrance (above) has "The Growth of Social Security" by Henry Kreis while the relief at the east entrance is "The Benefits of Social Security", also by Kreis.

Wilbur J Cohen Federal Building, Washington DC

The remaining two entrances have reliefs by Emma Lu Davis. "Family Group" at the south entrance and "Unemployment Compensation" (above) at the west entrance.

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2 comments:

  1. HelsJanuary 8, 2015 at 1:38 AM

    You noted that this building was constructed to serve as the Social Security Board Building in 1939, soon after the Depression ended. Times must have been very tough. Yet I think the decorative artists were very brave, adding external reliefs related to some aspect of Social Security. Social Security was and is anathema in many parts of the USA body politic.

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    1. UnknownJanuary 8, 2015 at 7:42 AM

      My thinking exactly Hels. I doubt these subjects would be portrayed on a Federal building in US today. It's interesting that in the toughest of times in the 20thC, 'big Government' in the form of the New Deal was the right policy but now we see today's political and business leaders espousing the opposite with minimal Government 'interference'. Today's values don't seem right to me.

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