Temporary buildings of the National Mall

The U.S. government constructed a number of temporary buildings on the National Mall during World War I and II which stood from 1918 until 1971.

They were built due to the urgent need for office space during wartime, but they remained in use during peacetime even though they disrupted the intended layout of the mall according to the McMillan Plan for over half a century.

Its early implementation prior to World War I included initiating the replacement of the old Department of Agriculture Building with the current headquarters, removal of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station, and construction of the National Museum of Natural History.

[1]: 48–52 The entry of the United States into World War I in April 1917 led to an expansion of the federal government, causing urgent need for new office space to be constructed.

Although the buildings were intended to be temporary, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts by 1918 suggested that they would likely remain in use long past the end of the war.

[6] Beginning in 1929, and accelerating with the inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, impetus increased for further implementation of the McMillan Plan.

In 1930, the Commission of Fine Arts blamed the temporary buildings for "producing a depressing air of slovenliness" on the Mall.

[13] Although the Navy intended the buildings to provide temporary quarters for the United States military during World War I, the reinforced concrete structures would remain in place until 1970.

Tempo-A was mostly empty and used for storage (furniture) with part of Nixon's reelection campaign occupying it for a short period of time.

Westward view from the top of the Washington Monument in 1943 or 1944. The Main Navy and Munitions Buildings , dating from World War I, stand to the right of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool . The other temporary buildings were constructed during World War II.
Eastward view of the National Mall from the top of the Washington Monument in 1922. The four structures and two smokestacks crossing the Mall are Temporary Buildings C–F and their associated heating plant. In the late 1930s, all but Building E were demolished.
In 1942, Building E was joined by three new temporary buildings. All these were demolished during 1966–1971, and the National Air and Space Museum was constructed in their place.
A 1946 map of central Washington, D.C., including the names and locations of temporary buildings [ 9 ]
World War II Temporary Buildings T and U photographed in 1950. These were demolished in 1958 for the construction of the National Museum of American History .
View of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom , with the temporary buildings still in place. The Main Navy and Munitions Buildings are to the left, the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts buildings are to the right, and the Bureau of Ships buildings are at the far end of the Reflecting Pool.