April

In the afternoon of April 16, 1879, the East Wing of the building was formally turned over to the Secretary of War and of the Navy, and the keys deposited in their possession. The completion date was a month late because of a reduction of hours of labor to conform with similar action of the Navy Department at its yards, for a period of six months. The library and the main stair were the only pieces of unfinished work in the East Wing, but all was finished by the fall of that year.