View source for United States Customhouse and Post Office (St. Louis, Missouri)

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name                    = United States Custom House and Post Office
| nrhp_type               = nhl
| designated_other1_name  = St. Louis Landmark
| designated_other1_date  =
| designated_other1_abbr  = STLL
| designated_other1_link  = St. Louis Landmark
| designated_other1_color = #aaccff
| image                   = MO-St. Louis courthouse 1884.jpg
| caption                 =
| location                = 815 Olive St.<br>[[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]]
| coordinates             = {{coord|38|37|44|N|90|11|34|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin                = United States St. Louis#Missouri#USA
| area                    =
| built                   = 1873-1884
| architect               = [[Alfred Bult Mullett]]
| architecture            = Second Empire
| designated_nrhp_type    = December 30, 1970<ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=806&ResourceType=Building|title=United States Customhouse And Post Office (St. Louis)|access-date=2008-06-18|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301043629/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=806&ResourceType=Building|archive-date=2009-03-01|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| added                   = November 22, 1968<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2008a}}</ref>
| refnum                  = 68000053
}}
The '''U.S. Custom House and Post Office''' is a [[court house]] at 815 Olive Street in downtown [[St. Louis]].
It was designed by [[architect]]s [[Alfred B. Mullett]], [[William Appleton Potter]], and [[James G. Hill]],<ref name=fjc>[http://www.fjc.gov/history/courthouses.nsf/getcourthouse?OpenAgent&chid=22F99EEF233B35688525718B006801CD St. Louis, Missouri, 1884], ''[[Federal Judicial Center]]''</ref> and was constructed between 1873 and 1884.<ref name="nhlsum"/> Located at the intersection of Eighth and Olive Streets, it is one of four surviving Federal office buildings designed by Mullett. The others are the [[Eisenhower Executive Office Building]], a part of the [[White House]] complex in [[Washington, D.C.]], the [[Federal Building (Raleigh, North Carolina)|Century Post Office]] in [[Raleigh, North Carolina]],<ref>"[https://archive.today/20070529040453/http://www.courts.mo.gov/page.asp?id=3502 The St. Louis Old Post Office and Custom House]", Your Missouri Courts</ref> and the [[United States Custom House (Portland, Maine)|U.S. Custom House]] in [[Portland, Maine]].
It is built in the [[Second Empire (architecture)|Second Empire]] architectural style that was popular in the post [[American Civil War]] era.<ref name="nhlsum"/> Mullett's other Second Empire buildings in [[Boston]], [[Cincinnati]], [[New York City]], and [[Philadelphia]] have been demolished.<ref name="nrhpinv1">{{cite web|url={{NHLS url|id=68000053}}|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination: Old Post Office|last=Snell|first=Charles W.|date=February 17, 1970|publisher=National Park WService|access-date=2009-04-27}}</ref>
==Description==
The three-story monumental granite building is {{convert|234|ft|m}} long and {{convert|179|ft|m}} deep. It includes a basement, sub-basement and attic level, with {{convert|16|ft|m|adj=on}} ceilings at the basement levels and {{convert|10|ft|m|adj=on}} thick foundation walls, which are surrounded by a {{convert|25|ft|m|adj=on}} deep dry moat for light and ventilation. The basement connects to a tunnel under 8th Street that was used for the delivery of mail to the post office. The basement material is red Missouri granite, while the upper floors are gray granite from Hurricane Island, Maine, between {{convert|3|ft|m}} and {{convert|4|ft|m}} in thickness. The building surrounds a skylit inner courtyard, {{convert|48|ft|m}} by {{convert|55|ft|m}}.<ref name="nrhpinv1"/>
High ceilings predominate in the main structure, with first floor ceilings at {{convert|26|ft|m}} and second and third floors at {{convert|22|ft|m}}. Interior structure is a mixture of [[wrought iron|wrought]] and [[cast iron]], supporting arched brick floors in a system that was referred to at the time of construction as "fireproof." The building's windows were provided with fireproof shutters.<ref name="nrhpinv1"/>
The principal facade is the southern, along Olive Street, which features an iron [[mansard]] dome. Each street elevation features a central pavilion which in turn bears a portico. The Olive Street elevation's pediment is ornamented by the 1877 sculpture "America at War and America at Peace" by [[Daniel Chester French]], his first major commission. Double-hung windows are set in cast iron frames throughout the building.  Cast iron trim and molding frames interior sides of windows and doors. Interior detailing was extensive, with art glass panels, mosaic tile floors and bronze door knobs imprinted with the [[Seal of the United States]]. Thirty offices on the second, third and fourth floors featured red Bologna marble fireplace mantels.<ref name="nrhpinv1"/>
[[File:Old Post Office, Saint Louis.jpg|thumb|Photo taken from the south-east corner of the Old Post Office in St. Louis, Missouri. The photo shows the principal facade along Olive Street.]]
==History==
The Customhouse and Post Office was constructed under the supervision of architect James G, Hill and construction superintendent Thomas Walsh, for a total cost of $5,686,854.68. The third floor of building was occupied by the U.S District Court until 1935, when it moved to new quarters at 12th and Market streets. The Post Office remained until 1970, occupying the main basement and the first floor. A number of Federal agencies were housed on the fourth floor.<ref name="nrhpinv1"/>
[[File:US-MO(1891) p448 ST. LOUIS, POST OFFICE.jpg|thumb]]
The [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri]] met at this courthouse until 1935, and the [[U.S. Circuit Court]] that district met here until that court was abolished in 1912. The [[U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit]] met here from 1891 until 1935.<ref name=fjc/> It was transferred from the U.S. [[General Services Administration]] to the State of Missouri through the [[Federal Historic Surplus Property Program]] in September 2004.<ref name="nhlsum"/> It is currently a mixed-use facility serving federal, state, and private purposes. The building was to the downtown campus for [[Webster University]] until the campus was relocated to the adjacent Arcade Building upon the completion of its renovation in late 2015.<ref name=fjc/> Soon after, [[Lindenwood University]] announced it would relocate its downtown campus to Webster University's former space. The [[Missouri Court of Appeals]], Eastern District, also occupies the building.<ref>{{cite web|title=Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District|url=http://www.courts.mo.gov/page.jsp?id=99}}</ref>
==See also==
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in Downtown and Downtown West St. Louis]]
*[[List of National Historic Landmarks in Missouri]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{commons category|Old Post Office (St. Louis, Missouri)}}
*{{HABS |survey=MO-1195 |id=mo0292 |title=Post Office & Customs House, Ninth & Locust, Eighth & Olive Streets, Saint Louis, Independent City, MO |photos=13 |data=9 |cap=1}}
*{{NHLS url|id=68000053|title=Photographs of the Customhouse and Post Office, St. Louis|photos=y}} at the National Park Service's NRHP database
{{National Register of Historic Places}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Customhouse And Post Office, Saint Louis, Missouri}}
[[Category:Government buildings completed in 1884]]
[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in Missouri]]
[[Category:Historic American Buildings Survey in Missouri]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in St. Louis]]
[[Category:Former federal courthouses in the United States]]
[[Category:Alfred B. Mullett buildings]]
[[Category:Second Empire architecture in Missouri]]
[[Category:Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri]]
[[Category:Post office buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri]]
[[Category:Landmarks of St. Louis]]
[[Category:Custom houses in the United States]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in St. Louis]]
[[Category:Custom houses on the National Register of Historic Places]]
[[Category:Downtown St. Louis]]
[[Category:1884 establishments in Missouri]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in St. Louis]]