Art Deco Landmark at 1100 New York Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.
Framed by the glassy grid of surrounding office towers, the curved limestone façade of 1100 New York Avenue NW stands as a striking example of Washington, D.C.’s understated flirtation with Art Deco design. Once home to the Greyhound Bus Terminal, this 1940 structure is one of the city’s finest surviving examples of the Streamline Moderne style, with its rounded corners, horizontal emphasis, and stylized vertical elements like the raised lettering that still proudly spells out “1100 NEW YORK AVE.”
Designed by William S. Arrasmith, who created many bus stations for Greyhound during this era, the building originally served as a vital hub for intercity transportation before falling into disuse in the late 20th century. During a major redevelopment of the surrounding block, preservationists successfully lobbied to incorporate the historic terminal into the new office complex. Today, it sits integrated at the base of a larger postmodern office building, its curving walls and corner windows offering a tangible connection to mid-century America’s love affair with speed, motion, and the open road.
Its adaptive reuse is widely regarded as one of D.C.’s more successful examples of historic preservation in a modernizing downtown. Look closely, and you’ll see ghost marks of the original clock above the corner parapet. The American flags hanging nearby subtly echo the building’s past role in connecting cities and states.
Captured here at golden hour, the deco curves of the terminal contrast elegantly with the rectilinear backdrop of mirrored windows, reminding us how public architecture once aspired to uplift even the most utilitarian of civic functions.
Art Deco Landmark at 1100 New York Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.
Framed by the glassy grid of surrounding office towers, the curved limestone façade of 1100 New York Avenue NW stands as a striking example of Washington, D.C.’s understated flirtation with Art Deco design. Once home to the Greyhound Bus Terminal, this 1940 structure is one of the city’s finest surviving examples of the Streamline Moderne style, with its rounded corners, horizontal emphasis, and stylized vertical elements like the raised lettering that still proudly spells out “1100 NEW YORK AVE.”
Designed by William S. Arrasmith, who created many bus stations for Greyhound during this era, the building originally served as a vital hub for intercity transportation before falling into disuse in the late 20th century. During a major redevelopment of the surrounding block, preservationists successfully lobbied to incorporate the historic terminal into the new office complex. Today, it sits integrated at the base of a larger postmodern office building, its curving walls and corner windows offering a tangible connection to mid-century America’s love affair with speed, motion, and the open road.
Its adaptive reuse is widely regarded as one of D.C.’s more successful examples of historic preservation in a modernizing downtown. Look closely, and you’ll see ghost marks of the original clock above the corner parapet. The American flags hanging nearby subtly echo the building’s past role in connecting cities and states.
Captured here at golden hour, the deco curves of the terminal contrast elegantly with the rectilinear backdrop of mirrored windows, reminding us how public architecture once aspired to uplift even the most utilitarian of civic functions.