U.S. Geological Survey National Center, Reston, Virginia

In 1917 the Geological Survey moved into the newly built Interior Building near the White House in Washington, D. C. Twenty years later a larger building was constructed nearby to house the expanding U. S. Department of the Interior. Height restrictions reduced the planned size of the new building, and the Geological Survey was compelled to remain in the older Interior Building now identified as the General Services Administration Building. Expansion of the Survey's programs, and particularly the overall government need for additional office space in downtown Washington, has resulted in the Survey's activities being presently housed in 30 different buildings, at 17 widely scattered locations throughout the Washington Metropolitan Area.