It was used extensively during World War II to transport servicemen, and played a minor role in the Civil Rights Movement.

In September 1932, a hearing involving the Public Utilities Commission, Several DC Streetcars, the Short Lines and representatives of the Greyhound Lines took place regarding the request for a new Terminal for the bus company on the Northern side of New York Avenue NW between 14th and 15th Street NE.

The Washington Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Trade and the Merchants and Manufacturers Associations supported the project.

However the approval also implemented a limit on the number of arrivals and departures that could take place during peak traffic hours.

It would house the buses of the Pennsylvania, Richmond, Capital and Atlantic Greyhound Lines as well as the Corporation managing the terminal and have air-conditioning.

The architects were Wischmeyer, Arrasmith & Elswick of Louisville, KY and Frances P. Sullivan of Washington, DC.

[4] On August 10, 1939, it was announced that the old terminal had been leased to Arthur G. Dezendorf who operated a chain of automobile service stations and parking lot.

The facade line with Indiana limestone neatly rimmed along the upper edges with glazed black terracotta coping.

On the same floor, visitors could find Highway Tours Inc. as well as the baggage checkrooms, parcel checking facilities, telephone booths, the information desk, a restaurant and a large drug store on the 12th Street NW side of the building.

[3][6] Directly behind the waiting area, in the rear of the building were the thirteen covered docks used for loading and unloading of arriving and departing buses.

Greyhound Lines played an important role in the war effort due to rationing of gas and rubber and advertised it.

While it was not clear why the altercation took place, it appeared that the shooter did not have any previous record but had drinking heavily, was separated from his wife and a son who was a sailor was missing in the Pacific.

[11] On May 4, 1961, thirteen black and white men and women aged 18 to 61 divided into two mixed groups boarded a Trailways bus (from the Trailways Terminal located a block away) and a Greyhound bus (from this terminal) in Washington, DC to begin a two-week trip into Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.

The participants were all volunteers and did not encounter any issues on their departure from the Greyhound and Trailways Terminals in Washington, DC.

It hits you just past the fingerprinty glass doors, just one step into the waiting room ... - the stale, sweet, sooty urban smell of cigar smoke, old sweat and carbon monoxide; the tart, grimy smell of winos, and the starchy air of the cafeteria, like the mess hall of a troop ship, with that same hourless quality of mass travel anywhere in America ...

Same smell of any bus station, same air-brake sighs and diesel groans, same crowd in the waiting room, slouched in the plastic seats with the bolted-on TV sets that nobody watches.

[14] On September 28, 1972, a bomb made of 2 to 2+1⁄2 pounds (0.91 to 1.13 kg) of dynamite attached to a clock was left in the terminal.

The police returned with a dog trained in detecting explosives and using a stethoscope, the locker was found on the west wall.

[16] In 1976, Greyhound Lines decided to remodel the building to make it fit more in the modern downtown Washington, DC was becoming.

It was suffering from its age, its design which did not work anymore with so many people present and crime was a major issue in the area.

[18] On June 2, 1981, Greyhound Lines announced a multi-million land swap with developer Morton Bender in the presence of Mayor Marion Barry.

This allowed the entire terminal to be saved and to serve as the entrance and lobby of the new 1100 New York Ave.[17] On February 1, 1989, the 1976 remodel was finally removed and it appeared that the art deco details had been preserved, including the two flags on the front of the building.

The Greyhound name and the running hound logo were removed and replaced with 1100 and New York Ave but the clock remained.

The office structure was built where the bus docks and parking once stood right behind the waiting area.