Federal buildings in the United States

Towards improving design of federal buildings in the United States, "the committee recommended architecture that would convey the 'dignity, enterprise, vigor, and stability of the American Government.'

Designers and officials were encouraged to pay special attention to site selection and layout, including landscape development.

[3] William Gibbs McAdoo, the Secretary of the Treasury from 1913 to 1918, and the Supervising Architect at the time, James A. Wetmore promoted standardization of government building design.

They instituted the policy that buildings were to be designed with "scale, materials and finishes" that directly reflected their "location, prominence and income".

[5] A small post office with revenue of under $15,000 would be made of brick, with standard wood windows and doors and would appear "ordinary".