Michael J. Dillon U.S. Court House - Buffalo, NY
Posted by: 
Rayman
N 42° 53.165 W 078° 52.618
17T E 673367 N 4750350
The Michael J. Dillon U.S. Courthouse is located on Niagara Square in the heart of downtown Buffalo.
Waymark Code: WM1FEN
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 04/27/2007
Views: 118
After the turn of the century Buffalo became one of the nation's important industrial cities, and the home of many Federal agencies. With the passage of the Public Buildings Act of 1926, a new Federal building to house the already over-crowded agency offices, became feasible. By 1928, the city's citizens began to put pressure on Congress to construct a building which could house all local Federal offices. The Emergency Relief and Construction Act of 1932 authorized the construction of a number of Federal buildings, the Dillon court house being one of them. The cost estimate for the building and the land was $2.5 million.
The Public Buildings Act had specified that the supervising architect of the Department of the Treasury be responsible for the design of all public buildings. However, due to the economic pressures of the Depression on small architectural firms, local architects were hired to design some federal buildings. In January of 1933, two Buffalo architectural firms were retained to prepare plans for the U.S. Court House. Edward Green was probably Buffalo's most influential and prolific architect. Duane Lyman, who led the second firm of Bley and Lyman, also had a long and productive career.
Because of the unusual shape of the site, the architects created a pentagonal shaped building. A twelve-story building was planned originally but due to reduction of funds, the building was reduced to seven stories. The corner stone of the building was laid by Federal Judge John K. Hazel on May 29, 1936. The new Federal building was dedicated by President Franklin Roosevelt on October 17, 1936.
Source: GSA website.
Year Built: 1936
Current Use of Building: Federal Court
Level of Courts: Federal
Architect: Bley & Lyman with E.B. Green & Son
Dates this building was used to house judicial proceedings: 1936-present
Physical Address:
64 Court St
Buffalo, NY 14202
Hours: Not listed
Related Website: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
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