[2] In 1900, the United States Congress created the Senate Park Commission (also known as the "McMillan Commission" for its sponsor, Senator James McMillan (R-MI)) to reconcile competing visions for the development of Washington, D.C. and especially the monumental core, including the National Mall and nearby areas, and the city's parks and parkways.

[7] The 1910 legislation establishing the CFA gave the commission the power only to provide advice on the siting of statues, fountains, and monuments.

[8] On November 28, 1913, President Woodrow Wilson issued Executive Order 1862, which expanded the CFA's advisory authority to cover any "new structures...which affect in any important way the appearance of the City, or whenever questions involving matters of art and with which the federal government is concerned..."[9] Executive Order 3524, issued by President Warren G. Harding on July 28, 1921, further expanded the CFA's review to the design of coins, fountains, insignia, medals, monuments, parks, and statues, whether constructed or issued by the federal government or the government of the District of Columbia.

[2] In 1930, Congress passed the Shipstead-Luce Act, co-sponsored by Senator Henrik Shipstead (FL-MN) and Representative Robert Luce (R-MA), which amended the 1910 legislation establishing the Commission of Fine Arts.

The Shipstead-Luce Act gave the CFA statutory authority not merely to review but also approve plans for the height, appearance, and color and texture of materials for exterior construction of any building, public or private, erected in the District of Columbia.