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 Street (Columbus, Ohio), Broad and High Street (Columbus, Ohio), High Streets, and encompasses all of the area inside the Inn ...
. 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, Oh ...
from its completion in 1887 until 1934, when the court moved to the
Joseph P. Kinneary United States Courthouse. 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 Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
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, Columbus, Ohio, United States. The register is maintained by the City of Columbus Historic Resources Commission and Historic Pr ...
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 t ...
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.
Prom ...
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 b ...
.
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
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, Oh ...
from its completion in 1887 until 1934, when the court moved to the
Joseph P. Kinneary United States Courthouse. 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
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
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, Columbus, Ohio, United States. The register is maintained by the City of Columbus Historic Resources Commission and Historic Pr ...
in 1982.
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]
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
See also
* List of United States federal courthouses in Ohio
*
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, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio
* Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...
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
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, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio
* Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...
Federal buildings in the United States