John Minor Wisdom United States Court Of Appeals Building
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The John Minor Wisdom U.S. Court of Appeals Building, located at 600 Camp Street in
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
,
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, is a historic courthouse for the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * Eastern District of Louisiana * M ...
. In 2015 it was designated a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
for its extensive role in adjudicating issues of the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
John Minor Wisdom John Minor Wisdom (May 17, 1905 – May 15, 1999), one of the "Fifth Circuit Four", and a United States Republican Party, Republican from Louisiana, was a United States federal judge, United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appe ...
, for whom it is now named, was a judge on the Fifth Circuit during that period.


Building history

The John Minor Wisdom U.S. Court of Appeals Building originally housed a U.S. post office and both federal district and appeals courts. In 1908, the New York architectural firm Hale and Rogers won a design competition for the building, and U.S. Treasury Department officials approved their plans in 1909. Workers broke ground later that year on the site, which encompasses the block bounded by Lafayette, Camp, Magazine, and Capdeville streets overlooking Lafayette Square. Construction of the elaborate building took many years; the date 1912 is incised on the frieze on the Lafayette Street side, but the interior was not finished until 1915, and employees were only able to move into their offices the next year. The post office occupied the entire first floor, while the federal district court and court of appeals were on the second. Executive branch agencies were on the third level. In 1961, needing additional space, the post office moved to a new facility. Two years later, the courts also vacated. The building was unoccupied until 1965, when it served as a public high school for three years after
Hurricane Betsy Hurricane Betsy was an intense and destructive tropical cyclone that brought widespread damage to areas of Florida and the central United States Gulf Coast in September 1965. The storm's erratic nature, coupled with its intensity and minim ...
destroyed McDonough 35 High School. Between 1971 and 1972, the federal building underwent an extensive restoration. Upon completion, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals returned to the building as its only tenant. The building was listed in the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1974 and has since been featured in several films and television shows. In 1994, the building was renamed to honor
John Minor Wisdom John Minor Wisdom (May 17, 1905 – May 15, 1999), one of the "Fifth Circuit Four", and a United States Republican Party, Republican from Louisiana, was a United States federal judge, United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appe ...
, a respected judge who served on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals from 1957 until his death in 1999. Wisdom strongly promoted civil rights and issued landmark decisions that supported school desegregation and voter rights. In 1993, President
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
awarded him the
Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merito ...
, the nation's highest civilian honor. During
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
in 2005, wind and rain damaged the building, but there was no flooding. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals judges and staff briefly relocated to other cities and towns in the region because of damage and power outages, but returned to the building in December 2005 when the issues were resolved.


Architecture

The building is an excellent example of the
Italian Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...
style of architecture. During its construction, author Russell F. Whitehead called the building "the most important public building of the New South." Regional building materials were used throughout, including Mississippi and Louisiana pine, Tennessee and Georgia marble, and Louisiana gum. The monumental three-story building is faced in white Cherokee, Georgia, marble atop a gray granite base. The first story is articulated with deeply incised horizontal striations while the marble on the upper stories is cut in smooth ashlar blocks. Round-arch openings dominate the first story. Dramatic colonnades with Ionic columns are on the Camp and Magazine street elevations and support a cornice inscribed with the names of past Chief Justices of the Supreme Court. Projecting corner pavilions rise slightly above the roofline; each pavilion contains an ornate arched opening flanked by marble columns, both freestanding and attached, that are striated to match the pattern on the street level. The columns support entablatures that include classical balustrades. Windows with ornately carved hoods featuring split pediments and eagle-and-shield motifs are directly above the arched openings.
Ionic order The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...
pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...
s separate windows on the upper stories of the pavilions. A balustrade runs between each of the pavilions at the roofline, topping the recessed portion of each elevation. Other exterior elements typical to the Italian Renaissance Revival style of architecture include classical features such as pediments, triglyphs, and dentils, which are interspersed with foliated and floral designs. A unique detail is the arch keystones that have carved fish-scale patterns. Perhaps the most striking exterior features of the building are the groupings of four colossal statues placed at each of the building's corners. These identical copper and bronze sculptures are called History, Agriculture, Industry, and Arts, but are popularly known as ''The Ladies''. Each figure holds an item associated with the concept it represents. History wears a bonnet; Agriculture holds a cornucopia; Industry holds a tool; and Arts holds a flower. The figures are seated around an armillary sphere banded by the signs of the zodiac. Each sculpture is twelve feet high and weighs one ton. The renowned Piccirilli Brothers, expert marble carvers who also executed
Daniel Chester French Daniel Chester French (April 20, 1850 – October 7, 1931) was an American sculptor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, best known for his 1874 sculpture ''The Minute Man'' in Concord, Massachusetts, and his 1920 monume ...
's statue of President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
in the
Lincoln Memorial The Lincoln Memorial is a U.S. national memorial built to honor the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., across from the Washington Monument, and is in the ...
, created ''The Ladies'' from drawings by architect
James Gamble Rogers James Gamble Rogers (March 3, 1867 – October 1, 1947) was an American architect. A proponent of what came to be known as Collegiate Gothic architecture, he is best known for his academic commissions at Yale University, Columbia Univer ...
. The emphasis of the 1971 to 1972 restoration effort was on the impressive public interior spaces, which were returned to their original grandeur. The first floor lobby, known as the Great Hall, is an L-shaped space with marble columns that support an elaborate bronzed castplaster vaulted ceiling. The ceiling is richly decorated with bas relief floral
medallion A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...
s and motifs, geometric key designs, and allegorical figures. Spherical lights are held in place by bronze pendant fixtures that descend from the vaulted ceiling. The court's law library occupies the original postal work area on the first floor. Three courtrooms, each with an entry lobby with marble wainscot walls, are located on the second floor. The courtrooms are paneled in polished gum wood and bronze
chandelier A chandelier (; also known as girandole, candelabra lamp, or least commonly suspended lights) is a branched ornamental light fixture designed to be mounted on ceilings or walls. Chandeliers are often ornate, and normally use incandescent li ...
s hang from the ceiling. Distinctive wall sconces that feature large white globes supported by either cast-bronze eagles or snakes illuminate the spaces. The central courtroom is perhaps the most impressive. Called the En Banc courtroom, it was designed to seat all of the active judges on the Court of Appeals simultaneously so that they can hear important cases together. The plaster ceiling features medallions and other symbols and has been finished with a bronze glaze.


Significant events

*1909: Construction commences *1912: Roof sculpture installed *1915: Construction completed at a cost of $2 million and building occupied *1961: Post office vacates building *1972: Restoration completed *1974: Building listed in the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
*1994: Building renamed to honor John Minor Wisdom *2015: Building designated
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...


Building facts

*Location: 600 Camp Street *Architect: Hale and Rogers *Construction Dates: 1909–1915 *Architectural Style:
Italian Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...
*Landmark Status: Listed in the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
*Primary Materials: Marble *Prominent Features: Colonnades; Great Hall; "The Ladies" sculptural groupings


See also

*
List of National Historic Landmarks in Louisiana This is a complete list of National Historic Landmarks in Louisiana,. The United States National Historic Landmark program is a program of the National Park Service, and recognizes structures, districts, objects, and similar resources according to ...
* National Register of Historic Places listings in New Orleans


References


Attribution

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wisdom, John Minor, U.S. Court of Appeals Building National Historic Landmarks in Louisiana Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana Federal courthouses in the United States Government buildings completed in 1915 Buildings and structures in New Orleans Italian Renaissance Revival architecture in the United States National Register of Historic Places in New Orleans