About this property
The U.S. Courthouse and Post Office in Huntsville, Alabama was built in 1932. It reflects Classical Revival architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. The building was one of many built pursuant to the authority of the Public Buildings Act of 1926. It was designed by Edgar Lee Love of Huntsville and Miller, Martin & Lewis of Birmingham. It is generally believed that Louis A. Simon, Supervising Architect of the Treasury, exerted a great deal of control over the design. The building was constructed as a post office, courthouse and federal office building. When the post office was relocated, many of the spaces, especially on the first floor and in the lobby area, were significantly altered. The building is one of only two in the central business district in the Neo-Classical Revival style. It was listed on the National Register as part of the Downtown Huntsville Multiple Resource Area. The structure is a three-story Greek Revival–style building. The building has buff brick walls and is ornamented with a limestone water table and an entablature. The main (south) elevation is visually divided into three bays by a central limestone projecting temple form. The temple form consists of four limestone engaged pilasters with simple Tuscan caps supporting an unenriched entablature. The unenriched entablature continues completely around the building at the 3rd-floor level. The main entry door is in the center of the bay. The west elevation is simpler in detail. Visually it is also divided into three bays, with the center bay being defined by brick engaged pilasters carrying simple Tuscan caps. Both the north and east elevations are buff brick and ornamented with limestone. An unenriched limestone entablature spans the east elevation at the 3rd floor level and wraps around the east and west projecting wings at the north elevation. The north elevation continues to serve as the loading dock area at the 1st floor, though no longer for the postal service. At the 2nd- and 3rd-floor levels the east and west wings project and the recessed area forms a small, light court where the windows of the courtroom are revealed. The original east elevation is somewhat obscured by a buff brick addition at the 1st-floor level. The east elevation repeats the same ornamentation as the west, with the four brick-engaged pilasters with Tuscan caps supporting the unenriched entablature. However, due to the addition, only the tops of the pilasters are visible. It appears that the east elevation was originally identical to the west. The main, original courtroom is located in the center of the 2nd floor. A wood panel wainscot to 4-foot height encircles the room. The wainscot is ornamented with fluted columns at 2-foot intervals, thus the wainscot mirrors the fluted pilasters of the walls and matches the original courtroom furniture. The north and south walls are accented with fluted plaster engaged pilasters. The plaster crown mold is in the form of a band with blue rectangular fields highlighted with gold. Above each pilaster the blue rectangle is larger and contains a scroll design; between the pilasters the rectangles are smaller and have a sheaf design. Perhaps the most striking feature of the courtroom is the mural behind the rostrum. The mural, painted by artist Xavier Gonzales, is Belgian linen on canvas using zinc white, earth and cadmium colors. The setting is characteristic of the environment of Huntsville and includes five figures symbolizing different phases of society. The figures represent youth, scientific agriculture, work, artistic endeavors and motherhood. The mural was commissioned by the Section of Painting and Sculpture and was installed October 27, 1937.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was U.S. Courthouse and Post Office listed on the National Register?
U.S. Courthouse and Post Office was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 24, 1981.
What type of historic resource is U.S. Courthouse and Post Office?
U.S. Courthouse and Post Office is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for U.S. Courthouse and Post Office?
The period of significance for U.S. Courthouse and Post Office is recorded as the industrial era, specifically around 1932.
Can I research the history near U.S. Courthouse and Post Office?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near U.S. Courthouse and Post Office will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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