United States Post Office, Court House and Custom House

About this property

The Gene Snyder U.S. Courthouse and Custom House, also known as United States Post Office, Court House and Custom House, is a historic courthouse, custom house, and post office located at Louisville in Jefferson County, Kentucky. It is the courthouse for the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places under the "United States Post Office, Court House and Custom House" name. Construction of the Post Office, Court House and Custom House, as it was known historically, came at the end of a prosperous decade for the city of Louisville. The largest city in Kentucky, Louisville played a major role in the regional manufacturing and shipping industries, fostering an increasing population and urban development. New building projects highlighted the city's growth and prosperity, and the planned construction of the new federal building was another indication of Louisville's rising prominence. The new federal building was constructed from 1931 to 1932, under the Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department James A. Wetmore. The building was among the first recipients of artwork commissioned by the Treasury Relief Art Project, that employed painters and sculptors to incorporate art within the interiors of federal buildings nationwide. In 1935, artist Frank Weathers Long, a Kentucky native, was commissioned to paint ten murals depicting regional themes of commerce, agriculture, and sport. In 1936, with a growing need for more offices and courtrooms, the PWA funded the addition of the sixth floor. The interior of the building was renovated in 1950. In 1958, the sixth story was damaged by a fire, prompting additional renovations. In 1986, the building was renamed in honor of Marion Gene Snyder. Born in Louisville in 1928, Snyder was a prominent figure in Kentucky politics, serving several public offices, including U.S. Congressional Representative from 1963 to 1965 and 1967 to 1987. In 1986, the Post Office moved out, and Congress appropriated funds for a four-year renovation project to modernize the interiors and restore the key historic spaces on the first and second floors. As a result of the project, the building received numerous stewardship awards, including the 1997/98 and 1998/99 Office Building of the Year, Historic Building Category from the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA); BOMA's 1999/2000 International Award for Government Building of the Year, Historic Building Category; and the 2001 Modernization Project award from Buildings Magazine. In 1999, the Gene Snyder U.S. Courthouse and Custom House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

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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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