From its origins in a small boarding house rented by linemen in St. Louis to an 11-story office building in the nation's capital, the IBEW has taken a winding path to its current home during its 132-year history. In the earliest days of the Brotherhood, business was conducted "out of the pliers' pockets of local union secretaries." The same was true for our first grand secretaries, whose homes served as the national headquarters of the destined-to-be world's largest electrical workers' union.

After the first convention was held in a St. Louis boarding house in 1891, Grand President Henry Miller traveled the country to charter locals while Grand Secretary-Treasurer J.T. Kelly worked from his St. Louis home. By mid-1892, the union was able to lease space in the Emile Building at 909 Olive St. in the city. When an economic depression erupted in 1893, Kelly helped steer the growing union to better financial footing.

At the 1897 convention, Henry T. Sherman of Rochester, N.Y., replaced Kelly as grand secretary. Following precedent, the union headquarters followed him to his city, where he directed business from his house and later, as conditions began to improve, from a small office in the Powers Building at the corner of State and Main streets.

In 1903, with the election of Frank McNulty as international president, the headquarters were moved to Washington, D.C., in two rooms of the Corcoran Building at Pennsylvania Avenue and 15th Street NW.

In 1905, the headquarters was moved to Springfield, Ill., where it occupied space in the Pierik Building until 1914. This period is often referred to as the IBEW's formative years, when dissension from within gave the still young union some of its most trying years. In the end, the pressing need for representation on a national scale became a rallying point. Organizing efforts were expanded, and with them came the need for new office space.

In 1914, McNulty moved the national office to the Reich Building, where it remained until 1920. With war brewing in Europe, the organization of manufacturing workers was on the rise and membership in the IBEW nearly doubled. Delegates at the 1919 convention voted to create a permanent headquarters in the nation's capital to meet the growing demand for services.

In 1920, the IBEW moved again to Washington, D.C., to occupy the fifth floor of the Machinists' Building. Many of the modern features of the union were introduced during this era, including insurance benefits, a Research Department and the National Council for Industrial Relations. In 1928, the IBEW took the next step and began construction on its own building.

In 1929, the IBEW moved into its first organization-owned building at 1200 15th St. NW. For the next 44 years, the building became a symbol throughout North America of strong union representation for electrical workers for the next 44 years. It was renovated in 1935 and 1955, doubling its space.

In September 1966, the IBEW celebrated its 75th anniversary. In 1971, to effectively meet the challenges of a growing electrical industry, the union began work on a modern 12-story building. In 1973, the second organization-owned headquarters opened at 1125 15th St. NW, where it remained in use until 2005.

After 30 years, the building on 15th Street was showing its age. In 2003, construction of a new building at 900 Seventh St. NW began under the supervision of International President Edwin D. Hill and was finished in 2005. Today, it holds the offices of our international president and secretary-treasurer and more than 200 staff members.

For more than 130 years, the International Office buildings have served as indispensable tools in the IBEW's quest for a better way of life for members and their families. And that quest continues, no matter how far it may take us from home.