Stretching for three blocks south to north from Mount Vernon Place NW to N Street NW and east to west from Seventh Street NW to Ninth Street NW, the Washington Convention Center is big enough to host several shows at one time. The glass-and-limestone facility was designed in three sections to blend in with the surrounding neighborhood.

To make the building spacious without overpowering the lower skyline nearby, architects placed about 40 percent of the building below ground, creating the largest excavation site in the Western Hemisphere. Serious digging began in March 1999 and the $834 million building opened on March 29, 2003.