Federal buildings in the United States house offices of the United States government that provide services to state and city level population centers. These federal buildings are often literally named Federal Building, with this moniker displayed on the property; they may share real estate with federal courthouses.
There are design issues specific to federal buildings, relating to their multipurpose functions and concerns related to the fact of their association with the government. For example, as symbols of the government, they may potentially be focus of protests or threats, so there are security issues. Also environmental impacts and environmentally sound design may be more important.
A committee set up by President John F. Kennedy in 1962 issued "Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture". Towards improving design of federal buildings in the United States, "the committee recommended architecture that would convey the 'dignity, enterprise, vigor, and stability of the American Government.' Designers and officials were encouraged to pay special attention to site selection and layout, including landscape development." [1]
Some architects specialize in federal building designs. [2]
The first U.S. Federal building authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1807, with an appropriation of $20,000 to build, in New Orleans, a post office, courthouse, or custom house. [3]
Historically, the authorization and construction of the first federally-funded building in a small town often has been a major event. Sometimes these were simply a post office or a courthouse; often they were combination buildings.
The Treasury Department of the U.S. established a Department of Construction office in 1852. From 1864 on the Office of the Supervising Architect handled design of federal buildings. [3]
William Gibbs McAdoo, the Secretary of the Treasury from 1913 to 1918, and the Supervising Architect at the time, James A. Wetmore promoted standardization of government building design. They instituted the policy that buildings were to be designed with "scale, materials and finishes" that directly reflected their "location, prominence and income". [4] [5] This push to standardization of public building design was in conflict with the Tarsney Act, [5] which permitted private architects to design federal buildings after being selected in a competition under the supervision of the Supervising Architect. The act, under which several prior buildings were designed, was repealed in 1913 as it was felt that designing building with government architects would most efficiently cause the desired standardization. [5]
Buildings were to be designed with specific criteria, A "Class A" building was one which was on a major street of a major city, surrounding by expensive building and expected to generate at least $800,000 in revenue. These buildings would have marble or granite exteriors, marble interiors, ornamental bronze, and other similar fixtures. [5]
A small post office with revenue of under $15,000 would be made of brick, with standard wood windows and doors and would appear "ordinary". Critics felt the system would make public buildings too plain. [5]
The growth of cities and government functions has led to the need for large multipurpose highrise federal buildings. An example is the 32-story $120 million construction in Cleveland of the Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building. [6]
In the United States, multipurpose federal buildings are generally managed by the U.S. General Services Administration. The GSA recognized its top 20 federal buildings in 2014. [7]
Notable buildings in the United States that have been termed "federal building" include:
Old Post Office, or Former Post Office, may refer to:
The National Register of Historic Places in the United States is a register including buildings, sites, structures, districts, and objects. The Register automatically includes all National Historic Landmarks as well as all historic areas administered by the U.S. National Park Service. Since its introduction in 1966, more than 97,000 separate listings have been added to the register.
Alfred Bult Mullett was a British-American architect who served from 1866 to 1874 as Supervising Architect, head of the agency of the United States Treasury Department that designed federal government buildings. His work followed trends in Victorian style, evolving from the Greek Revival to Second Empire to Richardsonian Romanesque.
America's 11 Most Endangered Places or America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places is a list of places in the United States that the National Trust for Historic Preservation considers the most endangered. It aims to inspire Americans to preserve examples of architectural and cultural heritage that could be "relegated to the dustbins of history" without intervention.
Ammi Burnham Young was a 19th-century American architect whose commissions transitioned from the Greek Revival to the Neo-Renaissance styles. His design of the second Vermont State House brought him fame and success, which eventually led him to become the first Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department. As federal architect, he was responsible for creating across the United States numerous custom houses, post offices, courthouses and hospitals, many of which are today on the National Register. His traditional architectural forms lent a sense of grandeur and permanence to the new country's institutions and communities. Young pioneered the use of iron in construction.
William Martin Aiken was an American architect who served as Supervising Architect of the United States Treasury and oversaw and participated in the design and construction of numerous federal buildings during his appointment that now reside on the National Register of Historic Places.
U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, or variations such as Federal Courthouse and Post Office or prefixed by Old, may refer to:
Willoughby James Edbrooke (1843–1896) was an American architect and a bureaucrat who remained faithful to a Richardsonian Romanesque style into the era of Beaux-Arts architecture in the United States, supported by commissions from conservative federal and state governments that were spurred by his stint in 1891-92 as Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department.
James Knox Taylor 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 built throughout the United States during the period.
Federal Building and Post Office, and variations such as prefixed by Old, may refer to:
Edmund George Lind was an English-born American architect, active in Baltimore, Atlanta, and the American south.
Mifflin Emlen Bell, often known as M.E. Bell, was an American architect who served from 1883 to 1886 as Supervising Architect of the US Treasury Department. Bell delegated design responsibilities to staff members, which resulted in a large variety of building styles, including Second Empire, Châteauesque, Queen Anne and Richardsonian Romanesque.
The United States Customs House and Court House, also known as Old Galveston Customhouse, in Galveston, Texas, is a former home of custom house, post office, and court facilities for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, and later for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Completed in 1861, the structure is now owned and operated by The Hodge Law Firm.
William Alfred Freret Jr. was an American architect. He served from 1887 to 1888 as head of the Office of the Supervising Architect, which oversaw construction of Federal buildings.
The Sam B. Hall Jr. Federal Building and United States Courthouse, formerly known as the Marshall Federal Building and U.S. Post Office, was built in 1915. It is a Classical Revival building designed by Oscar Wenderoth and George Shaul.
The William M. Steger Federal Building and United States Courthouse is a historic government building built in Tyler, Texas. It was built during 1933–1934 in a restrained Classical Revival style. It served historically as a courthouse, post office, and a government office building. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001 as the Tyler US Post Office and Courthouse.
James G. Hill (1841–1913) was an American architect who, during the period 1876 to 1883, headed the Office of the Supervising Architect of the United States Department of the Treasury, which oversaw major Federal buildings.