The Dan M. Russell Jr. United States Courthouse is a complex located in
Gulfport, Mississippi to serve the
Southern District of Mississippi. The courthouse tower was named in honor of
United States district judge Dan M. Russell Jr. (b. 1913 – d. 2011).
The complex includes the 8-story Dan M. Russell Courthouse and the adjacent 1923
Gulfport High School that was renovated to serve as judicial offices.
Courthouse tower
Construction of the 8-story Dan M. Russell Courthouse began in 2001 and was completed in 2003. The main entrance to the tower's lobby is at the south facade which faces the
Mississippi Sound. The second floor is the
mezzanine
A mezzanine (; or in Italian language, Italian, a ''mezzanino'') is an intermediate floor in a building which is partly open to the double-height ceilinged floor below, or which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, a loft ...
which serves as an assembly area for juries. Three of the tower's outer walls were constructed of
precast concrete. The building is generally symmetrical on the north- and south-facing facades, but the west facade is wider than the east facade. To enhance natural lighting within the building, the outer wall for the upper six floors of the south facade was constructed of "faceted
curtain-wall window bays".
The third and fourth floors of the tower were designed for offices to accommodate the
United States Marshals Service and the
clerk of the district court. On floors 5 through 8, the building design included jury rooms, chambers for judges, and 8 courtrooms:
* 4
District courts
* 2
Magistrate courts
* 2
Bankpruptcy courts
Courthouse annex
As part of the courthouse complex, the adjacent 1923 Gulfport High School building was renovated for use by the
U. S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi and
federal probation services.
Courthouse grounds
The courthouse tower and annex are situated on . A park-like plaza extends from the street to the main entrance of the courthouse tower. Southern live oaks (''
Quercus virginiana''), dating from the 1923 school property, dot the landscape. A large theater at the center of the old school building was replaced with a landscaped courtyard. Parking areas to accommodate 140 to 150 vehicles are located on the east and north portions of the acreage. A separate service building at the northeast corner of the property houses a chilled-water cooling system and a gas-fired-boiler heating system.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dan M. Russell Jr. United States Courthouse
Federal courthouses in the United States
Government buildings completed in 2003
Buildings and structures in Gulfport, Mississippi
2003 establishments in Mississippi