The United States Post Office and Courthouse is a historic building in

Downtown Columbus, Ohio Downtown Columbus is the central business district of Columbus, Ohio. Downtown is centered on the intersection of Broad and High Streets, and encompasses all of the area inside the Inner Belt. Downtown is home to most of the tallest buildings ...

. The structure was built from 1884 to 1887 as the city's main post office. The building also served as a courthouse of the

United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (in case citations, S.D. Ohio) is one of two United States district courts in Ohio and includes forty-eight of the state's eighty-eight counties–everything from the Columbus are ...

from its completion in 1887 until 1934, when the court moved to the

Joseph P. Kinneary United States Courthouse The Joseph P. Kinneary United States Courthouse is a federal courthouse in Columbus, Ohio, in the city's downtown Civic Center. It was formerly known as the U.S. Post Office and Court House. It was designed by Richards, McCarty & Bulford and was ...

. The building was tripled in size from 1907 to 1912, and was rehabilitated for use as the Bricker & Eckler law offices in 1986, and today houses the same law firm. The building was listed on 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 1973 and the

Columbus Register of Historic Properties The Columbus Register of Historic Properties is a register for historic buildings and other sites in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The register is maintained by the City of Columbus Historic Resources Commission and Historic Preservation Offic ...

in 1982.

Attributes

It is a three-and-a-half-story building, originally designed in the

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

style by John T. Harris. It was expanded to three times its original size from 1907 to 1912, in a thorough process that unified old and new portions in the

High Victorian Gothic High Victorian Gothic was an eclectic architectural style and movement during the mid-late 19th century. It is seen by architectural historians as either a sub-style of the broader Gothic Revival style, or a separate style in its own right. Promo ...

style; the architect of record was

James Knox Taylor James Knox Taylor (October 11, 1857 – August 27, 1929) was Supervising Architect of the United States Department of the Treasury from 1897 to 1912. His name is listed '' ex officio'' as supervising architect of hundreds of federal buildings ...

. The building utilizes tan rock-faced Berea sandstone, with trim of smooth sandstone. The building has round-arched windows topped with heavy hoodmolds, and projecting stone bands between its floors. The 1900s addition was built to the south of the original structure, using the same type of stone. New elements added include pointed arches, buttresses, and Gothic ornamentation. The building has a red tile roof, replacing an original slate roof.

History

The structure was built from 1884 to 1887 as the city's main post office. The building also served as a courthouse of the

from its completion in 1887 until 1934, when the court moved to the

. Federal offices and the post office moved to the Bricker Federal Building around 1977. The building was rehabilitated for use as the Bricker & Eckler law offices in 1986, designed by Böhm-NBBJ, and today houses the same law firm. The building was listed on the

in 1973 and the

in 1982.

Gallery

File:United States Post Office under construction (retouched).jpg, Constructing the building File:United States Post Office and Government Building photograph-crop.jpg, The building as originally built, c. 1900 File:USPO-Courthouse building.jpg, Aerial view File:US P.O-Courthouse Columbus 01.jpg, East side with 1986 addition

References

External links

* {{Columbus Register of Historic Properties Buildings and structures in Downtown Columbus, Ohio Columbus Register properties

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

Former federal courthouses in the United States Government buildings completed in 1887 Government buildings in Columbus, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Columbus, Ohio Post office buildings in Ohio

Federal buildings in the United States

Attributes

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links