THE PATENT OFFICE is the popular name for the seat of the Department of the Interior, of which the Patent Office is a bureau. It is of the Doric style of Greek architecture and stands on the ground set aside by L'Enfant, the French engineer who planned Washington, for "a national church." Its construction has been piecemeal, following the growth of patent business. In 1867 it was finished at a cost of $2,347,011.65. |
