US Post Office

Story

The U.S. Post Office and Courthouse is a Beaux Arts style building located at 700 Grant Street, Pittsburgh in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. It is a courthouse of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.Building historyAs the steel industry boomed in Pittsburgh during the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the population of the city grew. New residents required federal services, so Pittsburgh native and Secretary of the Treasury Andrew W. Mellon helped to allocate funds for a new federal building in his hometown. Mellon supported the construction of a building that would represent the rise of Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania to national political and economic prominence.The New York architectural firm of Trowbridge & Livingston designed the building under the auspices of Supervising Architect of the Treasury James A. Wetmore. Construction commenced in 1931 but stopped shortly thereafter due to a labor dispute. The strike ended and construction resumed on June 8, 1932. The building was erected over the rail line in order to eliminate transporting mail to and from stations. It was completed and opened to the public on October 13, 1934 amid much fanfare, as was typical for federal building dedications during the Depression era, when federal buildings were symbols of hope for economic recovery and social stability. The Western District of Pennsylvania gaveled in its first court session in the building on November 7, 1934. Referred to as the New Federal Building until 1964, when another federal building was built across the street, it was the city's main postal distribution center until the majority of postal functions moved to a new facility in 1983. General Services Administration (GSA) acquired the building the following year.