United States Post Office, Courthouse, and Custom House (Spokane, Washington)
Encyclopedia
The Federal Building and U.S. Post Office, Spokane, Washington is a historic post office
, courthouse
, and custom house
building located at Spokane
in Spokane County, Washington
. It is a courthouse for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
.
" that encompasses portions of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. The growing city of Spokane needed a larger post office and space for Federal offices. The federal government acquired the West Riverside Avenue and Lincoln Street site in 1903 for a cost of $100,000. James Knox Taylor
, Supervising Architect
of the U.S. Treasury Department, designed the building in 1906 and 1907. Construction began in 1908 and was completed in 1909.
President William Howard Taft
visited the building just prior to its public opening in the fall of 1909. He praised the building's "simplicity, beauty and solidity" In early October, postal workers closed the old facility at Post street and Monroe Avenue and moved records and equipment to the new building in approximately two days with only minimal interruptions to patrons.
Only four months after the post office opened, rats were discovered in the basement. To remedy the problem, seven cats were allowed to live in the building, and the postmaster received $18 annually for each cat's care and feeding. The cats lived in the post office for at least one year, although no one is sure when the rat problem was solved.
As Spokane continued to grow and postal activity expanded, city officials realized the need to enlarge the building. The site directly north of the existing building was purchased and an addition was completed in 1941. The addition was designed by Louis A. Simon
, Supervising Architect of the Public Buildings Administration of the Federal Works Administration.
In 1994, a modernization effort was completed. High efficiency lighting, modern elevators, and new HVAC equipment were installed. Important interior public spaces also underwent renovation and restoration.
The Federal Building and U.S. Post Office was listed in the National Register of Historic Places
in 1983. In 2004, the building won The Office Building of the Year Award in the historic category from the Building Owners and Managers Association Northwest Region.
. The building's architect, James Knox Taylor, was a strong proponent of architecture inspired by Classical forms and ornamentation, which he believed appropriately conveyed the dignity of the federal government.
The exterior is finely detailed and proportioned. The symmetrical facade has a granite-faced basement level capped by a granite water table. The first story is clad in rusticated limestone and is dominated by arched openings. Cartouches (scrolled ovals) separate the first and second stories. The second and third stories are covered with smooth limestone and feature prominent Tuscan pilasters (attached columns) between window bays. The facade is topped with an entablature with a smooth frieze and medallions. The cornice contains a dentil course of small squares, a common feature on classical buildings. A parapet wall with a balustrade sits above the entablature.
The addition that was completed in 1941 blends harmoniously with the original 1909 building. Louis A. Simon, who designed the addition, appreciated both Modern and Colonial Revival forms of architecture. However, Simon designed the addition using Beaux Arts Classicism and Second Renaissance Revival styles to complement the existing building. Similar massing, material, and architectural details provide continuity.
The interior contains several ornate spaces. The first floor of the building contains formal public spaces such as the lobby, elevator vestibule, and main staircase. These areas have impressive proportions and finishes. Marble pilasters, floors, and wainscot; decorative plaster wall panels and coffered (recessed) ceilings; and terrazzo flooring are present.
The federal district courtroom and its lobby, which are located on the third floor, underwent renovation and restoration work in 1994. Marble floors and walls are located in the lobby, and the courtroom features rich details such as Ionic pilasters and decorative plasterwork. An oval skylight is set within an oval dome in the courtroom. Original stained oak rails, benches, and desks remain.
Offices are on the second and third floors. Wide corridors with terrazzo floors and marble baseboards separate perimeter offices from interior light courts.
In addition to the ornate spaces, the building contained a common feature in post offices of the era. The "sneak hole" was a specially constructed, enclosed gallery located above the postal workroom that allowed inspectors to secretly observe the actions of employees through strategically placed peep holes. The "sneak hole" is no longer in use today.
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, courthouse
Courthouse
A courthouse is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English speaking countries, buildings which house courts of law are simply...
, and custom house
Custom House
A custom house or customs house was a building housing the offices for the government officials who processed the paperwork for the import and export of goods into and out of a country. Customs officials also collected customs duty on imported goods....
building located at Spokane
Spokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
in Spokane County, Washington
Spokane County, Washington
Spokane County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington, named after the Spokane tribe. As of the 2010 census the population was 471,221, making it the fourth most populous county in Washington state. The largest city and county seat is Spokane, the second largest city in the state,...
. It is a courthouse for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties of the state of Washington: Adams, Asotin, Benton, Chelan, Columbia, Douglas, Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Grant, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lincoln,...
.
Building history
The Federal Building and U.S. Post Office in Spokane, Washington, opened in October 1909. It was the first major federal building constructed in the "Inland EmpireInland Empire (Pacific Northwest)
thumb|The Inland Empire regionThe Inland Northwest, or Inland Empire, is a region in the Pacific Northwest centered on Spokane, Washington, including the surrounding Columbia River basin and all of North Idaho....
" that encompasses portions of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. The growing city of Spokane needed a larger post office and space for Federal offices. The federal government acquired the West Riverside Avenue and Lincoln Street site in 1903 for a cost of $100,000. James Knox Taylor
James Knox Taylor
James Knox Taylor was Supervising Architect of the United States Department of the Treasury from 1897 to 1912. His name is listed ex officio as supervising architect of hundreds of federal buildings built throughout the United States during the period.-Early career:The son of H...
, Supervising Architect
Office of the Supervising Architect
The Office of the Supervising Architect was an agency of the United States Treasury Department that designed federal government buildings from 1852 to 1939....
of the U.S. Treasury Department, designed the building in 1906 and 1907. Construction began in 1908 and was completed in 1909.
President William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
visited the building just prior to its public opening in the fall of 1909. He praised the building's "simplicity, beauty and solidity" In early October, postal workers closed the old facility at Post street and Monroe Avenue and moved records and equipment to the new building in approximately two days with only minimal interruptions to patrons.
Only four months after the post office opened, rats were discovered in the basement. To remedy the problem, seven cats were allowed to live in the building, and the postmaster received $18 annually for each cat's care and feeding. The cats lived in the post office for at least one year, although no one is sure when the rat problem was solved.
As Spokane continued to grow and postal activity expanded, city officials realized the need to enlarge the building. The site directly north of the existing building was purchased and an addition was completed in 1941. The addition was designed by Louis A. Simon
Louis A. Simon
Louis A. Simon was an American architect.Simon was educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Following a tour of Europe, he opened an architectural office in Baltimore, Maryland in 1894....
, Supervising Architect of the Public Buildings Administration of the Federal Works Administration.
In 1994, a modernization effort was completed. High efficiency lighting, modern elevators, and new HVAC equipment were installed. Important interior public spaces also underwent renovation and restoration.
The Federal Building and U.S. Post Office was listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1983. In 2004, the building won The Office Building of the Year Award in the historic category from the Building Owners and Managers Association Northwest Region.
Architecture
The Federal Building and U.S. Post Office in Spokane, Washington, skillfully blends elements of two styles of architecture. Beaux Arts Classicism and Second Renaissance Revival were popular styles in the early years of the twentieth century. Both styles were often executed on monumental public buildings and feature rusticated ground floors and balustradesBaluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
. The building's architect, James Knox Taylor, was a strong proponent of architecture inspired by Classical forms and ornamentation, which he believed appropriately conveyed the dignity of the federal government.
The exterior is finely detailed and proportioned. The symmetrical facade has a granite-faced basement level capped by a granite water table. The first story is clad in rusticated limestone and is dominated by arched openings. Cartouches (scrolled ovals) separate the first and second stories. The second and third stories are covered with smooth limestone and feature prominent Tuscan pilasters (attached columns) between window bays. The facade is topped with an entablature with a smooth frieze and medallions. The cornice contains a dentil course of small squares, a common feature on classical buildings. A parapet wall with a balustrade sits above the entablature.
The addition that was completed in 1941 blends harmoniously with the original 1909 building. Louis A. Simon, who designed the addition, appreciated both Modern and Colonial Revival forms of architecture. However, Simon designed the addition using Beaux Arts Classicism and Second Renaissance Revival styles to complement the existing building. Similar massing, material, and architectural details provide continuity.
The interior contains several ornate spaces. The first floor of the building contains formal public spaces such as the lobby, elevator vestibule, and main staircase. These areas have impressive proportions and finishes. Marble pilasters, floors, and wainscot; decorative plaster wall panels and coffered (recessed) ceilings; and terrazzo flooring are present.
The federal district courtroom and its lobby, which are located on the third floor, underwent renovation and restoration work in 1994. Marble floors and walls are located in the lobby, and the courtroom features rich details such as Ionic pilasters and decorative plasterwork. An oval skylight is set within an oval dome in the courtroom. Original stained oak rails, benches, and desks remain.
Offices are on the second and third floors. Wide corridors with terrazzo floors and marble baseboards separate perimeter offices from interior light courts.
In addition to the ornate spaces, the building contained a common feature in post offices of the era. The "sneak hole" was a specially constructed, enclosed gallery located above the postal workroom that allowed inspectors to secretly observe the actions of employees through strategically placed peep holes. The "sneak hole" is no longer in use today.
Significant events
- 1903: Land at Riverside Avenue and Lincoln Street purchased for new Federal building
- 1909: Building completed and occupied
- 1941: Addition completed
- 1983: Building listed in the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
- 1994: Renovation and restoration completed
- 2004: Building receives The Office Building of the Year Award
Building facts
- Location: West 904 Riverside Avenue
- Architects: James Knox Taylor; Louis A. Simon
- Construction Dates: 1909; 1941
- Landmark Status: Listed in the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
- Architectural Style: Beaux Arts Classicism and Second Renaissance Revival
- Primary Materials: Limestone; Granite
- Prominent Features: Monumental Facade; Ornate First-Floor Lobby; Third-Floor Courtroom with Skylight