Foreword / by Earl A. Powell
I. Aim high in hope and work : politics and planning in Washington before. An enduring design legacy : Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. in the nation's capital / essay by Arleyn A. Levee
II. Statues, fountains, and monuments : the Burnham and French chairmanships, 1910-1916. The improvement of Washington City : Charles Moore and Washington's monumental core / essay by Pamela Scott
III. Thine alabaster cities gleam : Charles Moore and the classical paradigm, 1916-1937. The Jefferson Memorial : a pyrrhic victory for American architecture / essay by Carroll William Westfall
IV. Heroism, history, and automobiles : the chairmanships of Gilmore Clarke and David Finley, 1937-1963. Presidential influence : Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and the design of Washington's icons of executive power, 1933-1953 / essay by William B. Bushong
V. Modernism and monumentality : the chairmanship of William Walton, 1963-1971. Rather strong advisory : William Walton's Commission and the challenge of the FBI Building / essay by Zachary M. Schrag
VI. The past is present : J. Carter Brown and the postmodern era, 1971-2002. Washington aesthetics : J. Carter Brown and Commission of Fine Arts / essay by Richard Guy Wilson
VII. To every age its art : the Robinson, Childs, and Powell chairmanships, 2002-2012
Appendix A: Legislative history
Appendix B: Biographies of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, Old Georgetown Board, Contributing Staff, and essayists.
