History of the BEP: History of the BEP Buildings (1914-1938)

With an appropriation from Congress in 1911, several options were explored: the expansion of the old building site, the purchase of privately owned land to the south, or the purchase of a completely different site. Due to a variety of circumstances, the option to build a second building, between 14th and 15th Street, to the south of the red brick building was chosen. Congress appropriated a total of $2,300,000 toward the purchase of the land and the construction of this new building. With James Knox Taylor as the Supervising Architect, a construction contract was signed on November 17th, 1911, to have the building completed by May 1st, 1913. Construction was done by J. Henry Miller, Inc. of Baltimore, Maryland. Due to foul weather and a lack of steel girders, the construction was not completed until February 24th, 1914, and the new building was not formally occupied until March 19th, 1914. The overall cost was $2,882,000.