[2]) In the early 1930s, the area that was to become the Federal Triangle was one of the city's most blighted neighborhoods, known as Murder Bay and as a center of crime and prostitution.

Redevelopment of the Federal Triangle began in earnest in the 1930s, during the Great Depression, under the leadership of Treasury Secretary Andrew W. Mellon.

In recognition of name changes of the complex, the United States General Services Administration designates some historical events which occurred at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium as historical events which occurred at the Clinton Building.

The neoclassical building was designed by architects William Adams Delano and Chester Holmes Aldrich, who took as their inspiration the Place Vendôme in Paris.

The second half of the grand plaza was never finished as designed, save for a curve in the northwest corner of the headquarters of the Internal Revenue Service.

[5] The original design of the headquarters building included a local branch post office, called Benjamin Franklin Station.

In the 1990s, the General Services Administration (GSA) refurbished the former Post Office building and preserved the architectural details of the hallways in the style of the 1920s and 1930s.

[9] The structure was formally dedicated at a ceremony on July 17, 2013, at which Clinton spoke and former EPA Administratrator Carol Browner attended.

A reflecting pool at the new ATF headquarters on New York Avenue NW was named for Rios.

Six of the 25 mural commissions awarded have been criticized by visitors and employees as to stereotyping American Indians and displaying inappropriate images.

[11][12] GSA addressed the controversy: The U.S. Post Office headquarters murals embody many admirable qualities of American art and culture in the 1930s: a range of visual styles, inventive approaches to subject matter, commitment to bringing creativity and artistic beauty to public spaces, and devotion to the development of American art as a part of national identity.

Today, the presence of the murals in this building offers a rare opportunity to experience a full cycle of New Deal artwork in its original context, and serves as a valuable reminder of how American society has changed over time".

Some viewers objected to the nudity in some of the murals[13] and to revolutionary sentiments they believed were implicit in some works.