 In the 1980s , Democratic Senator Jennings Randolph of West Virginia led a group of lawmakers calling for a federal peace institute . USIP was established by Congress in 1984 and for many years rented office space in various buildings in downtown Washington , the last being 1200 17th Street NW . In 1996 , Congress approved a site on the National Mall for USIP . The site chosen for a new headquarters , the first permanent home for the USIP , was on the corner of 23rd Street and Constitution Avenue NW in Foggy Bottom . It was previously a parking lot for Bureau of Medicine and Surgery employees at the adjacent Old Naval Observatory . The land was transferred to the USIP without charge with an agreement that underground parking spaces would be built for the Navy employees . The site is on the northwest corner and last buildable site available on the National Mall , overlooking the Lincoln Memorial , and across the street from the historic American Institute of Pharmacy Building . 
