Petersburg City Hall

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Petersburg City Hall
CityHallPetersburgVA.jpeg
Petersburg City Hall, HABS Photo, Summer 1981
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Location135 N. Union St.,
Petersburg, Virginia
Coordinates 37°13′47″N77°24′19″W / 37.22972°N 77.40528°W / 37.22972; -77.40528 Coordinates: 37°13′47″N77°24′19″W / 37.22972°N 77.40528°W / 37.22972; -77.40528
Arealess than one acre
Built1856 (1856)-1859, 1908-1910
ArchitectAmmi B. Young
Architectural styleRenaissance, Italian Renaissance Revival
NRHP reference No. 78003185 [1]
VLR No.123-0035
Significant dates
Added to NRHPNovember 16, 1978
Designated VLRApril 18, 1978 [2]

Petersburg City Hall is a historic city hall building located at Petersburg, Virginia. It was designed by architect Ammi B. Young and built between 1856 and 1859, as the U.S. Customs House and Post Office.

Contents

Description

The Petersburg Custom House & Post Office is located on the southeast corner of Tabb and Union streets on a plot of ground purchased April 18, 1856, for the sum of $15,000. [3] It is a three-story, three bay by eight bay, Italian Renaissance Revival style brick building faced in granite. It measures 46 feet wide and 100 feet deep and was expanded to its present size in 1908-1910.

The building was designed by Ammi B. Young, first Supervising Architect of the United States Treasury, in the Italian Renaissance style. Construction was commenced in 1856 and completed in 1859, the cost of construction being $84,664.88. It was first occupied, however, in September, 1858, while still in an unfinished condition. [3]

The exterior walls are constructed of Petersburgh granite. The original design of the building was for two stories only, after the original construction work was commenced, a third story was added for the accommodation of the Custom House department, and was used as sleeping apartments for the Customs officers. This building did not have a federal courtroom, all judicial matters would be conducted at the Richmond federal courthouse, just 20 miles north of the city.

The roof was made entirely of iron beams, covered with corrugated galvanized sheeting. The three southern bays of the building were added between 1908 and 1910.

The layout of the interior rooms plan has changed several times, nowadays revealing little evidence of the original arrangement. The first floor is primarily a large open public area containing municipal service areas. The second and third floors are divided into city offices. The interior columns and staircases are original. [3]

Uses

Sketch showing arrival of Union troops in Petersburg in April 1865, providing an incidental glimpse of the Custom House and Post Office. Harpers Weekly Harpers Weekly Magazine, April, 22, 1865.jpg
Sketch showing arrival of Union troops in Petersburg in April 1865, providing an incidental glimpse of the Custom House and Post Office. Harpers Weekly
Postcard of Custom House & Post Office, 1900 U.S. Custom House & Post Office, Petersburg, VA.jpg
Postcard of Custom House & Post Office, 1900
First floor interior of Custom House & Post Office, 1933 U.S. Custom House & Post Office, Petersburg, VA., interior, first floor-1.jpg
First floor interior of Custom House & Post Office, 1933

The building was primarily used as a post office and custom house, although the initial floor plan was changed several times. [3]

During the American Civil War the building served as the headquarters of the Confederate Army. [3]

The Post Office moved to a new location in 1936 and the building was renovated as part of a Works Progress Administration project, becoming the Petersburg's City Hall in 1938. [3] It still retains that use as at 2017.

Located in the Petersburg Courthouse Historic District, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. [1]

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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.

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References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission Staff (March 1978). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Petersburg City Hall" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. and Accompanying photo

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