Operated by the General Services Administration, it was designed by architect Paul Philippe Cret in 1933.

At the time of its construction it was the largest such heating facility in the United States and served 22 federal buildings.

[1] Cret used Art Deco styling for the essentially industrial building, a departure from the prevailing Washington classicism, but was able to integrate it with its surroundings through careful massing and detailing.

Limestone relief panels illustrate the building's purpose with depictions of a boiler, safety valve, generator, fan and heat exchanger.

[3] Originally designed to burn coal, the Central Heating Plant has been converted to use oil and natural gas.