The Federal Circuit resides in the Howard T. Markey National Courts Building at 717 Madison Place NW in Washington, D.C. The Markey Building is sandwiched between historic homes and faces Lafayette Square. Originally, the building plans for the courthouse called for the historic homes to be demolished, but First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy urged her husband, President John F. Kennedy to reconsider and seek an option where the homes could be preserved. President Kennedy tasked John C. Warnecke, an architect who was an early proponent of contextual architecture, with designing an option to preserve the historic homes. As desired by First Lady Jaqueline Kennedy, Warnecke's design for the Markey Building provides a backdrop for the historic architecture that surrounds the building.

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