The National Archives Building’s Landmark Plaque – Pieces of History

On August 22, 2024, the National Archives Building’s National Historic Landmark Plaque is being unveiled. Visit National Archives News and the National Archives History websites to learn more about this historic building. 

In December 2023, 90 years after its cornerstone was dedicated, the National Archives Building became a National Historic Landmark.

This week the plaque is being unveiled in a ceremony with remarks by the Archivist of the United States, the Historian of the National Archives (me!), and a representative from the National Park Service, the federal agency that oversees the Landmark program. 

National Historic Landmarks are buildings, sites, districts, structures, and objects that are nationally significant in American history and culture and that illustrate important contributions to our nation’s historical development. There are only 2,600 National Historic Landmark sites in the United States, and the federal government owns fewer than 400 of them.

Landmarks are distinguished from properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places by their national significance and their high degree of historic integrity. To be added to the National Register, a site just needs to be worthy of preservation, and these sites often have significance at the state or local level. In contrast with the 2,600 Landmarks in the United States, there are more than 95,000 properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

For a historic site to become a Landmark, it undergoes an extensive application and approval process. After a comprehensive study of the proposed Landmark is completed, the National Park System Advisory Board and its National Historic Landmark Committee reviews it. If they agree that the site is eligible for the designation, the nomination goes to the Secretary of the Interior for approval.   

To become a Landmark, first and foremost, a site must have national significance. It must also demonstrate exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States in history, architecture, archeology, technology, and culture.

A National Historic Landmark must possess a high degree of integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, and meet one or more of the following six criteria:

1. That is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to, and are identified with, or that outstandingly represents, the broad national patterns of United States history and from which an understanding and appreciation of those patterns may be gained; or
2. That are associated importantly with the lives of persons nationally significant in the history of the United States; or
3. That represent some great idea or ideal of the American people; or
4. That embody the distinguishing characteristics of an architectural type specimen exceptionally valuable for the study of a period, style or method of construction, or that represent a significant, distinctive and exceptional entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or
5. That are composed of integral parts of the environment not sufficiently significant by reason of historical association or artistic merit to warrant individual recognition but collectively compose an entity of exceptional historical or artistic significance, or outstandingly commemorate or illustrate a way of life or culture; or
6. That have yielded or may be likely to yield information of major scientific importance by revealing new cultures, or by shedding light upon periods of occupation over large areas of the United States. Such sites are those which have yielded, or which may reasonably be expected to yield, data affecting theories, concepts, and ideas to a major degree.

The National Archives Building actually met two of these. Criterion 1 relates to the National Archives’ role in Progressive-era government reform and as a reflection of the growth of the bureaucratic state. For Criterion 4, the building was the result of architectural design of renowned architect John Russell Pope.

Under Criterion 1, the National Archives Building is exceptional for being the first purpose-built repository for the nation’s federal records. Its creation reflects the confluence of the growing power and reach of the federal bureaucracy with the desire of citizens, especially historians, to have reliable access to the nation’s records. 

The institution—and our iconic building—are emblematic of Progressive-era goals of creating an educated, civic-minded populace by facilitating access to knowledge. For the newly professionalized discipline of the historian, which placed a premium on systematic study of the past using primary sources of evidence, the National Archives was essential.

Under Criterion 4, the National Archives Building is an exceptional example of the work of architect John Russell Pope, one of the most accomplished and influential of the second generation of classicist architects in the U.S. The National Archives Building’s architectural details and design represent Pope’s distinctive approach to design and construction of a monumental building that is appropriate for the institution’s location and purpose. 

Pope’s careful integration of the arts of architecture and sculpture articulate the symbolic importance of the building as a repository for democracy. He realized the symbolic aspect of the National Archives as an institution and intended for the building to not only be the first permanent home for historically valuable records of the federal government but also an imposing structure to rival the great monuments of the nation’s capital. He incorporated classical architectural themes to symbolize the tradition of our democracy derived from ancient Greece and Rome, making the building symbolic of the nation’s heritage and its perceived destiny.

The National Historic Landmark plaque is being hung in a prominent place within the National Archives Building. As visitors enter on Constitution Avenue, one of the first things they will see is the bronze plaque. So next time you are in Washington, DC, come visit the National Archives, a National Historic Landmark!