Old Post Office Museum

The Old Post Office Pavilion, now known as the Waldorf Astoria Washington DC, is a striking historic building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. Built between 1892 and 1899 to designs by architect Willoughby J. Edbrooke, the structure was originally made of granite, steel, and iron. Designed in the Romanesque Revival style, it was the tallest building in the capital when it was completed. To this day, it ranks as the third-tallest structure in the District of Columbia, after the Washington Monument and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, because strict height limits have been in force since 1910. The imposing complex is distinguished by a clock tower more than 270 feet tall and a five-story atrium. Since 1965, the complex has been part of the Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site, and in 1973 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a landmark in its own right.

The building's history is closely tied to historic preservation. In the 1970s it was threatened with demolition because the Romanesque Revival structure looked out of place next to the surrounding Neoclassical government buildings of the 1930s. Citizen protests prevented its demolition and led to the founding of the D.C. Preservation League. Since 1983, the clock tower has housed ten bells, a gift to the United States from Britain's Ditchley Foundation, which are rung on special occasions. After years of use as a public office building, including as home to the National Endowment for the Arts, the property was leased to a private consortium in 2013.

Following an extensive renovation, the complex opened in September 2016, initially as a luxury hotel. Ownership changed hands in 2022, and the building reopened on June 1, 2022, as the Waldorf Astoria Washington DC. Today, visitors experience a place that combines the capital's architectural history with modern hospitality. The preservation of the building symbolizes the successful fight by citizens to protect historic sites in Washington, D.C., and makes it a major cultural and tourist attraction.