Rejuvenation in 1970s[edit]
The Old Post Office was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.[56] That same year, the General Services Administration formally dropped its intention to demolish the building and instead developed a plan save the Old Post Office Pavilion.[57] The National Capitol Planning Commission agreed to the project.[58]
Major renovation of the structure was made possible in 1976 by enactment of the Public Buildings Cooperative Use Act. The law gave GSA the legal authority to lease federal buildings and use the money received for renovations and upgrades. It also legalized the use of a portion of federal office buildings for commercial retail and restaurant use.[13] The Old Post Office was the first major project begun under the law.[5]
An $18 million renovation began in 1977.[59] The building badly needed it: The atrium roof had been covered over, making the interior dark; the building leaked and had suffered extensive water damage; there was mold throughout the building; and the heating system often broke down.[13]
1979-1983 renovation[edit]
GSA held a competition in 1978 to find a partner willing to redevelop the Old Post Office Pavilion. The agency believed that the configuration of the interior space and downtown real estate market would only support a hotel.[60] But the winning bid did not propose a hotel. A joint venture by four firms—McGaughy, Marshall, and McMillan; Arthur Cotton Moore Associates; Associated Space Design, Inc.; and Stewart Daniel Hoban & Associates—won the competition.[7] GSA and the bidding team reached an agreement for a 55-year lease. GSA collected $166,000 a year in rent, which increased just 5 percent during the life of the lease. GSA also received a percentage of all profits from the enterprise.[60]
The $29 million renovation was completed in 1983. Much of the building was gutted to utilize the interior space for efficiently, but some "preservation zones" were established to retain the interior's historic character. Much of the old marble was replaced with new, pink marble, and the interior repainted in shades of cream, gray, green, and ivory pastels. A glass-enclosed elevator to the observation deck was also added,[13] as well as a new grand staircase to the second floor and two 6,000-square-foot (560 m2) restaurants.[61]
The renovated building was officially dedicated on April 19, 1983. Vice President George H. W. Bush presided over the event.[62] The re-opening was celebrated with peals from the Bells of Congress from the clock tower. Federal tenants included the Institute for Museum Services, National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the President's Council on the Arts and Humanities. (Modular office furniture was used to allow more people to work in the offices, which proved controversial among federal employees used to traditional desks and chairs.)[5] The retail levels, which occupied the first three floors of the building, opened on September 13, 1983.[63] The retail section included a performance space known as the Nancy Hanks Center.[13] (Hanks died on January 7, 1983, just weeks before the building's re-opening.)[64] The clock tower and observation deck reopened to the public on May 1, 1984.[65] The 1983 renovation won strong praise from architectural critic Benjamin Forgey.[66] The Washington Post editorialized that it was "spectacular",[67] and professor of architecture Roger Lewis cited its atrium as one of the finest in the region.[68] The impression of excellence in architecture lingered. In February 1988, Andrea Oppenheimer Dean, executive editor of Architecture magazine; Washington Post architecture critic Benjamin Forgey; and professor of architecture Roger Lewis still counted the Old Post Office building as among their favorites.[69]
The commercial space was designed by the Boston firm of Benjamin Thompson & Associates, and it was leased by Evans Development Co. of Baltimore. More than 50 restaurants and boutique retail stores were anticipated to sublet portions of the three-story retail section,[61] and it was 98 percent leased at its opening.[63] The retail pavilion seemed to do well at first, and was a major attraction downtown especially on weekends.[70] Evans Development received a $2.25 million tax credit in July 1984 for its work on the historic building.[71]
In the mid-1980s, Hillman Properties bought out its partner, Evans Development, and took control of the Old Post Office Pavilion.[72]
In October 1986, Congress enacted legislation formally renaming the Old Post Office the "Nancy Hanks Center".[73]
1988 to 1992 expansion[edit]
Despite the positive news about the Old Post Office Pavilion, it was not doing well. GSA imposed conditions on the 1983 renovation that left the retail pavilion looking like an office building rather than a shopping mall. There was also too little retail space, the retail space was poorly configured due to the architectural design of the building, and GSA refused to allow any storefronts on the exterior that would signal that there was retail or restaurants inside.[60] The pavilion's revenues were generated in about equal parts from tourists, local office workers, and local residents.[74] Although most retailers were making money, revenues fluctuated wildly on a seasonal basis. Restaurants had a difficult time earning money, and turnover among them was high.[75]
Old Post Office Joint Venture (a group led by Hillman Properties), the developer of the pavilion, was also losing money. Old Post Office Joint Venture (OPOJV) received $166,000 a year in rent from GSA, but its agreement with the federal government called for doubling the size of the retail space to 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2). Approval for that expansion had never been given. OPOJV originally proposed expansion of the retail space into the Internal Revenue Service Building, but this was rejected for security reasons. It then proposed an underground parking lot and pavilion expansion in the area occupied by the IRS building's parking lot, but this, too, was not approved.[75]
With the financial situation at the Old Post Office Pavilion worsening, OPOJV proposed building a glass-enclosed annex on the IRS building's parking lot. The proposal was strongly opposed by the D.C. Historic Preservation Review Board. Nonetheless, Congress appropriated $1.7 million for the project and OPOJV agreed to contribute another $15 million. The National Capital Planning Commission also gave its approval to the project.[75]
The new East Atrium opened on March 6, 1992. The three level structure had 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2) of interior space and a glass roof. Under the terms of the development agreement, the federal government owned the land beneath the structure, but the building was owned by Hillman Properties. As construction occurred, the Old Post Office Pavilion lost many of its high-end retailers and replaced them with low-end shops selling mugs, souvenirs, T-shirts, and other items aimed at tourists. The East Atrium, however, included larger and more upscale retailers. The addition also featured a 5,000 square feet (460 m2) miniature golf course and bar. The East Atrium was managed by General Growth Properties, which said about 78 percent of the space was leased.[76] The East Atrium was not well received, critically. Architecture critic Benjamin Forgey acknowledged that the building achieved its goals; incorporated many modern architectural design features (such as glass curtain walls, setbacks, and good connections to sidewalks and pedestrian areas); and it added a piece of the 1982 master plan for Federal Triangle. But Forgey called the design by the local architectural firm of Karn Charuhas Chapman & Twohey awkward, with "clunky" proportions and over-heavy elements. The interior, however, won praise for its lightness.[77
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