Internal Revenue Service Building

The Internal Revenue Service Building is a federal building which serves as the headquarters of the Internal Revenue Service. It is located at 1111 Constitution Avenue, Northwest, Washington, D.C., in the Federal Triangle.

Building history

The building was designed by architects and engineers in the Office of the Supervising Architect under Louis A. Simon, and built from 1928 to 1936. The cornerstone was laid in 1929 by Treasury Secretary Andrew W. Mellon. The building was opened for use in 1930, 16 months ahead of the planned completion date, making it the first Federal Triangle building to be opened.
The building was designated by Congress as a contributing structure to the Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site in 1966, and was subsequently listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
An inscription above the main entrance of the building bears a quotation from Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr, "Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society."