Foggy Bottom
The name Foggy Bottom often is used as a metonym for the United States Department of State because its Harry S Truman Building headquarters is in the neighborhood.
From “Foreign policy” magazine:
Hitting Bottom in Foggy Bottom The State Department suffers from low morale, bottlenecks, and bureaucratic ineptitude. Do we need to kill it to save it? by matthew armstrong | september 11, 2009
Discussion over the fate of Foggy Bottom usually focuses on the tenure of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the troubles of public diplomacy, and the rise of special envoys on everything from European pipelines to Afghanistan and Pakistan. But Americans would benefit more from a reassessment of the core functionality of the U.S. State Department.
The Story of the Fog
The name "Foggy Bottom" arose from the area’s location next to the river and its marshy banks, which made the area prone to fog at various times of the year. In addition, in the 19th century, the Potomac waterfront supported a number of industries that emitted smoke.
Air circulation in the old, original Washington City was not great. The old city boundary was defined by the escarpment, or steep hills, that once were the Potomac’s ancient shoreline. The steep hills tended to trap air in the low-lying downtown areas. Washingtonians still experience this phenomenon on hot summer days and nights today.
Then and Now
This
historic riverfront community is one of the city's oldest
19th-century neighborhoods. Often referred to as the West End, Foggy
Bottom was once a community of Irish, German, and African American
neighbors employed at the nearby breweries, glass plants, and the
city gas works.
Today you can still find a few intimate
enclaves of historic houses and sacred p
laces
such as St.
Mary's Episcopal Church
and
the Concordia
German Evangelical Church. These
historic structures cluster in the middle of a neighborhood now
better known for the John
F. K
ennedy
Center for the Performing Arts ,
the massive Watergate apartments and hotel, and The George Washington University, home to Lisner Auditorium.
The Watergate hotel
Since 1961, the Department of State and the Fine Arts Commission has amassed an impressive American decorative arts collection. The Diplomatic Reception Rooms are the home to these furnishings and works of art--a collection valued at over $90 million.
The architecture of the building is equally impressive. From the Thomas Jefferson State Reception Room to the Benjamin Franklin State Dining Room, each room is more spectacular than the last.
Us Department of State Headquarters
Harry S. Truman Building is the third largest federal building in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. It houses the headquarters of the United States Department of State, maintaining foreign affairs. It is located just few blocks from the White House, on the address: 2201 C Street, NW; Washington, D.C. 20001.
Previously the building was called “Main State Building” and it was renamed to Harry S Truman Building (according to the thirty-third President of the United States (1945–1953)); by Public Law on 21 June, 2000. The building was constructed during the 1930s and it was supposed to be the building of the "Department of War". However, this never occupied the building since, by the time construction was complete, the military had already outgrown the building.
In 1960s a large addition was completed and now the building houses over 1.5 million usable square feet of space (145,000 square metres), the corridors take up over 267,000 square feet (24,805 square metres), and the roof area is about 7 acres. There are 43 elevators, over 4000 windows and about 34,000 fluorescent light fixtures that provide interior illumination. United States Department of State was established on July 27, 1789 and it is the Cabinet-level foreign affairs agency of the United States Government, basically the same as foreign ministries in other countries. It is administered by the United States Secretary of State, office currently held by Hillary Clinton.
