The Carnegie Institution of Washington

The front facade of the Carnegie Institution for Washington building.

NPS photo, 2022.

Quick Facts

Location:

Washington, DC

Significance:

Architecture, Education, Science, and Social/Humanitarian

Designation:

National Historic Landmark

For over 100 years, the building at the southeast corner of P and 16th streets in northwest Washington, DC, housed the Carnegie Institution of Washington, an important research institution founded in 1902 by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie endowed the institution with $10 million "to encourage... investigation, research and discovery and the application of knowledge to the improvement of mankind.” The 1910 building, designed by well-known New York architecture firm Carrere and Hastings, is important in US history because it represents the work of the Carnegie Institution and the groundbreaking research the organization has facilitated across the country and the world. The Secretary of the Interior designated the Carnegie building a National Historic Landmark (NHL) in 1965 for its significance in education, science, and humanitarian efforts.  

Contributions to Science and Humanity 

While the Carnegie building served as the administrative headquarters of the Carnegie Institution of Washington from 1910 until 2021, the research funded by the institution is completed in laboratories and facilities across the United States as well as in other countries. The founding mission of the Institution was to pursue knowledge for the sake of humanity.¹  

The mission led to the founding of several now world-renowned research centers including the Mount Wilson Observatory in Pasadena, California which has been the home of breakthrough discoveries in astronomy. The institution also supports other fields including geophysics, plant biology, embryology, and genetics and has been part of major scientific discoveries in each field over the last 120 years.² In the early 1900s the institution also funded the Department of Historical Research led by J. Franklin Jameson. Jameson expanded American historians’ access to historic documents and advocated for the construction of the National Archives building in Washington, DC.³  

Architecture 

Designed by the well-known New York architecture firm of Carrere and Hastings, the limestone building features a two-story portico with Ionic-order columns topped by a balustrade. The building’s stone cornice contains classical ornamentation, and a wide stone staircase leads to a set of large, brass doors at the 16th Street entrance.⁴ It is a nationally important example of Beaux Arts design.  

A New Direction 

In 2021 the Carnegie Institution sold its administrative building. While the building itself is no longer the headquarters of the Carnegie Institution, the work of the organization continues around the world and the building remains a National Historic Landmark, representing the Carnegie Institution’s vision of science for the benefit of humanity.  

Notes:

[1] “The Carnegie Institution,” Science 18(468) (1903): 797-8.
[2] Carnegie Science, “Our History.” 
[3] Steven H. Lewis, “Washington, DC NHL Administration Building, Carnegie Institution of Washington,” National Register of Historic Places Inventory Form, gov/id/117691775.
[4] Lewis, “Carnegie Institution of Washington,” 3. https://www.catalogs.archives.gov/id/117691775.

Sources:  

Carnegie Science. “Our History.” Carnegie Science. Accessed November 29, 2023. https://carnegiescience.edu/about/our-history.  

“The Carnegie Institution.” Science 18(468) (1903): 797-8. 

National Historic Landmark Nomination 

National Historic Landmarks (NHLs) are historic places that possess exceptional value in commemorating or illustrating the history of the United States. The National Park Service’s National Historic Landmarks Program oversees the designation of such sites. There are over 2,600 National Historic Landmarks in the US and its territories. All NHLs are also listed in the National Register of Historic Places.