Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse

About this property

The Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, also known as U.S. Courthouse, Sioux Falls, is a historic federal office and courthouse building located at Sioux Falls in Minnehaha County, South Dakota. The building is still in use as a federal courthouse, being the seat of the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota. The structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The monumental Romanesque U.S. Courthouse in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, embodied and validated the federal government's faith in westward expansion. The U.S. Government purchased a two-lot parcel dedicated to the construction of a Federal building in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on July 22, 1891. South Dakota's first senator, Richard Pettigrew, introduced a bill to fund the structure, recommending that native Sioux quartzite be used for its construction. Willoughby J. Edbrooke, Supervising Architect of the Treasury and architect for the original portion of the building, designed it to house a post office on the entry level and a courthouse on the second floor. Originally constructed between 1892 and 1895, the building was expanded in 1911 and again in 1931. In the early 1890s, South Dakota was a young state that had recently witnessed a major conflict between the U.S. Army and Native Americans at the Wounded Knee Massacre. The construction of a Federal building at Sioux Falls was intended to create a sense of stability and permanence among the newly arrived settlers. Since its construction, the federal building has been a landmark in the downtown area, where it occupies most of an entire city block. In May 1995, the Centennial Observance of the building was held to celebrate 100 years of service to the federal government. During the celebration, the building was rededicated and a historical marker, provided by the Minnehaha County Historical Society, was unveiled. At the same time, the building was officially renamed as the U.S. Courthouse. Historic memorabilia, photographs, and art were displayed throughout the building. The original 1892-1895 building was a two-story structure with an attic and basement built in the Romanesque style. Popularized by master architect Henry Hobson Richardson in the late 19th century, the Romanesque style was widely emulated by other architects throughout the nation. The character-defining Romanesque features of the U.S. Courthouse, an excellent example of the style, include handsome, wide (Romanesque) arches; rough-hewn stone finishes accented with smooth stones; and heavy, monumental massing. The exterior walls are primarily of rose-colored quartzite (also known as jasper), which was shipped by train from nearby Jasper, Minnesota. Like granite, quartzite is durable with a similar texture and workability. Unlike granite, however, the surface of quartzite has a slightly translucent appearance. A smoothly finished quartzite that looks much like terracotta was used for the trim and voussoirs (wedge-shaped stones in the arches).

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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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