Building 40 (Army Medical School)

Building 40, Army Medical School is a Georgian revival structure in the Walter Reed Army Medical Center complex in northern Washington, D.C., USA. It was built between 1922 and 1932 to house the Army Medical School, which became the Army Medical Center in 1923 when it — under the name “Medical Department Professional Service School” (MDPSS) — combined with the Walter Reed General Hospital. The MDPSS ultimately became the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, which occupied Building 40 from 1953 to 1999. It comprises four wings, known as the Craig (1924), Sternberg and Vedder (1932), and Siler (1962) Pavilions and is situated at 14th and Dahlia Streets.

The original block of Building 40 is designed in a more elaborate version of the Colonial/Georgian-Revival style established in the nearby Walter Reed General Hospital (Building 1). The large, brick, three-story building is embellished with elaborate classical limestone trim at its entrances. The raised basement is stone. The three main floors are brick; rusticated on the first floor and smooth on the second and third, with stone belt courses and a deep projecting dentilled stone cornice. A high parapet surrounds the flat roof. It is a complex brick and limestone structure, consisting of an original H-shaped block and a lster addition on the west. The original block appears to have been designed as a unit.

The east elevation was clearly intended to be the principal façade of the original building. The main entrance is located in the center of the crossbar of the H and the end elevations of both projecting wings are elaborately finished. Four pairs of giant order Tuscan engaged columns ornament the monumental pedimented pavilion that houses the main entrance and a large stone cartouche, bearing the caduceus symbol of the U.S. Army Medical Corps, is mounted in the center of the parapet. Today, air conditioners and pipes, probably used for ventilation, protrude from all major elevations. The entire building is now (2009) vacant and in bad condition, with many broken windows and evidence of water damage on the interior.

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