The Federal Triangle
The Federal Triangle, which occupies the wedge of land between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues and 14th Street, was known in the 1890s as “the plague spot of Washington” for its brothels and saloons that flourished alongside offices of the city's four daily newspapers and its leading banks, theaters and hotels.

In the early 1900s, city planners, architects and government officials launched a movement to resurrect Pierre L'Enfant's glorious plan for the nation's capital, which would have developed the site. The great surge of construction yielded eight monumental buildings between 6th and 15th Streets. By the mid-1930s, the country was deep in the Depression and construction stopped. The triangle was paved over and used as a parking lot for more than 50 years.

The Construction
In 1987, Congress passed the Federal Triangle Development Act, authorizing a Federal building complex and international cultural and trade center to complete the redevelopment of Pennsylvania Avenue. The Act specified that the building "reflect the symbolic importance and historic character of Pennsylvania Avenue and the nation's capital" and "represent the dignity and stability of the Federal Government." The law realized President John F. Kennedy's dream to revitalize Pennsylvania Avenue.

Under the direction of the U.S. General Services Administration and Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners of New York – in association with Ellerbe Beckett, Architects and Engineers of Washington, DC were selected as the building architects in 1989. Construction began in 1990.

In 1995 Congress voted unanimously to name the building after President Ronald Reagan, who had signed the legislation authorizing its construction. Three years later, the building was officially dedicated on May 5, 1998.

The Building
Today, the former "plague spot" showcases a "crown jewel" – the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. With its skylight soaring upward, its Trade Center reaching out to the world, and its landscaped plazas and entrances on all sides welcoming visitors, the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center is the nation's newest "architectural triumph" and most majestic landmark.

The domed Rotunda on Pennsylvania Avenue is the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center's signature feature and "front door" to the world inside. Through the 14th Street entrance, the eight-story foyer gives way to the building's most dramatic interior feature, a cone-shaped, horizontal glass skylight that soars from 35 to 125 feet over the 170-foot-diameter Atrium. The skylight comprises an acre of glass. As it widens from 30 to 110 feet, the Atrium serves as the pedestrian "spine" of the building, leading out to the Woodrow Wilson Plaza, the Federal Triangle Metro station and Daniel Patrick Moynihan Place, an area on the plaza honoring the senator who sponsored the legislation to create the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.