US Court Clerk

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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.SignificanceThe building was one of many built pursuant to the authority of the Public Buildings Act of 1926. It was designed by a collaboration of architects: Edgar Love and Miller, Martin and Lewis. It is generally believed that Louis 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 moved out, many of the spaces, especially on the first floor and 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.Architectural descriptionThe 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.