Virtual Tour of the CIA Original Headquarters Building Designed in the mid-1950s by the New York firm of Harrison and Abramovitz, designers of the United Nations building, the OHB is the fruition of former DCI Allen Dulles' dream of a college campus-like atmosphere in which intelligence officers could work near the policymakers (eight miles outside of downtown Washington) and maintain a secure and secluded environment. The cornerstone of the original building was laid November 3, 1959, and construction was completed in November 1963. The original building consists of 1,400,000 square feet of space and, with the companion New Headquarters Building, sits on 258 acres of land. [CIA Homepage] [Virtual Tour of the CIA] [Next Photograph]