“The New York architects Renwick and Sands designed the Corcoran building in 1875. In 1885, banker William W. Corcoran hired Cluss and Schulze to design a “columnade” for the 15th Street entrance and to reconstruct the stairway. Cluss and Schulze maintained their office in this building in the 1880s. Many of Washington’s artists rented studio space and taught painting and drawing classes in the building. William W. Corcoran founded the first art museum in Washington.”