About this property
The Richard Sheppard Arnold United States Post Office and Courthouse is a courthouse of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas in Little Rock, Arkansas. Completed in 1932, in 2003 it was renamed for Court of Appeals judge Richard S. Arnold. It is located at 500 West Capitol Avenue. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 as Little Rock U.S. Post Office and Courthouse. After the Civil War ended, the city of Little Rock prospered as a cotton and lumber market and as the chief center of trade for Arkansas. The population had grown from 3700 in 1860 to 88,000 by 1940. During the growth period of the 1930s, the need arose for a larger post office. Thus, the United States Post Office and Courthouse in Little Rock was built in 1931–32, during one of the most difficult periods of American history, the Great Depression of the 1930s. The passage of the Public Buildings Act of 1926 precipitated a period of building construction that was unprecedented in the United States. The Public Buildings Act specified that the office of the Supervising Architect of the Department of the Treasury would be responsible for the design and construction of all public buildings. James A. Wetmore was Acting Supervising Architect at the beginning of this period of construction. Since he retired in the early 1930s this may have been the last federal building whose construction he supervised. Though pre-dating the economic problems of the 1930s, the Public Buildings Act was the catalyst for the vast federal building program of the period and for providing jobs for thousands of construction workers around the country. Wetmore signed the construction drawings for the design of the new postal facility in May 1931. Construction was completed by December 1932. The east wing of the building was extended to the north in 1941 with an addition designed by Louis Simon as Supervising Architect of the Treasury and W.G. Noll as Chief of Architecture. The 1941 extension replicated the exterior of the original building. The west wing of the building was extended to the north in 1987. The 1987 addition is an abstraction of the original design. The building is located along the axis of the Arkansas State Capitol building and functions in both a visual and practical capacity to enhance the monumental quality of the state's capital city. It was renamed in honor of judge Richard Sheppard Arnold 2003. The building is symbolic of the federal presence in Little Rock and is a reminder of the growth of the federal government as evidenced in the building period of the 1930s.
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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.
Everything a full report reveals about Little Rock US Post Office and Courthouse
This page lists Little Rock US Post Office and Courthouse. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
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Questions about this property
When was Little Rock US Post Office and Courthouse listed on the National Register?
Little Rock US Post Office and Courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 23, 1999.
What type of historic resource is Little Rock US Post Office and Courthouse?
Little Rock US Post Office and Courthouse is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Little Rock US Post Office and Courthouse?
The period of significance for Little Rock US Post Office and Courthouse is recorded as the industrial era, specifically around 1932.
Can I research the history near Little Rock US Post Office and Courthouse?
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 Little Rock US Post Office and Courthouse will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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