Walter E. Washington Convention Center

Washington, DC

Opened in 2003, Washington, DC’s Convention Center is named after Walter E. Washington, the city’s first Home Rule Mayor. At 2.3 million square feet, it is the second largest building in Washington, with only the Ronald Reagan Building at 3.1 million square feet exceeding it. It remains one of the top 10 convention centers in the nation.

The facility has two main exhibition floors, as well the largest column-free ballroom on the East Coast, many meeting rooms of various sizes, multiple commercial kitchens, interior parking areas, interior and exterior loading docks, and a large central energy plant. The main entry lobby ceiling is 110’ in height. The construction of the convention center started in 1998 with what was, at the time, the largest excavation project in the western hemisphere.

The fire protection systems installed by National Fire Protection included multiple wet, dry, and preaction systems fed from a 10” primary loop feed main around the facility, supplying the numerous standpipes and fire hose valve cabinets as well as separate cabinet-located control assemblies for the protection of enclosed exhibits. The system is fed from two separate 10” water supplies, each feeding a fire pump system, one electric and one diesel.