The Federal Building is a historic structure in

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg (; ) is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the borough had a population of 7,106 people. Gettysburg was the site of ...

. It was erected in 1913, the 50th anniversary year of the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

. The main Adams County Library building since 1992, it previously served as the

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet ...

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

headquarters of the

Gettysburg National Military Park The Gettysburg National Military Park protects and interprets the landscape of the Battle of Gettysburg, fought over three days between July 1 and July 3, 1863, during the American Civil War. The park, in the Gettysburg, Pennsylvania area, is m ...

from 1912 to 1962 and as a branch of the

United States Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...

. In 2014, the Adams County Library System celebrated the building's 100th anniversary with three days of community events.

History

During the 1860s, the original branch of the U.S. Post Office in Gettysburg was located at the west of the borough square (later the site of the 1906 First National Bank building). It was captured by the

Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was a field army of the Confederate States Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed agains ...

during the

in early July 1863. In 1910, borough leaders requested that a new facility for federal offices be built. After construction on the design by GNMP superintendent Emmor Cope had begun, it was briefly suspended. Beginning in 1912, the building served as Gettysburg’s new branch of the U.S. Post Office, and also housed offices for the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

and Gettysburg National Military Park. During his tenure as

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

also maintained an office in the building. He did so, after suffering a heart attack in September 1955, "so that the press would photograph him going to and from work, thus ensuring the American people that their president was well and on the job," according to historian Michael J. Birkner. The building's 100th anniversary was commemorated in 2014 with a series of special events over a three-day period, including a gala (February 21), Children's Day (February 22), and open house (February 23).Kiner, "Adams County Library will celebrate 100th anniversary of Federal Building," PennLive, 2014.

Architectural features

The front steps and columns along

Baltimore Street This is a list of notable streets in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. A B D E F G K M P R Numbered streets See also * List of roads in Baltimore County, Maryland References {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Stre ...

(formerly the entrance) are similar to the Lincoln Memorial style of

Federal architecture Federal-style architecture is the name for the classical architecture built in the United States following the American Revolution between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was influenced heavily by the works of And ...

References

{{coord, 41.14456, -78.79926, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-PA, display=title Buildings and structures in Adams County, Pennsylvania Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Federal architecture in Pennsylvania National Park Service buildings and structures Former post office buildings Government buildings completed in 1912 Government buildings in Pennsylvania 1912 establishments in Pennsylvania