The Federal Building - Oklahoma City, OK
Posted by: 
hamquilter
N 35° 28.258 W 097° 31.027
14S E 634540 N 3926284
Covering a full half-block in downtown Oklahoma City, this building continues to house courts.
Waymark Code: WMAYZK
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 03/13/2011
Views: 9
"The FEDERAL BUILDING, 3d St. between Robinson and Harvey
Aves., a modified classic structure of limestone, provides space for the postoffice, the United States District Court, the Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States Veterans' Bureau, and other Federal agencies. The three story east section was erected in 1912, and in 1934 a nine-story central section and a west wing of three stories were added to meet the imperative demands of a city that had grown from some 80,000 population to 200,000 in the intervening 22 years.
M. F. Foster, architect for the United States Treasury Department, designed the 1934 edition and succeeded in fitting it to the original structure to make an impressive and harmonious effect." [Guide to the Sooner State, 1941]
The original three-story Beaux-Arts Classical post office/court room on the east side at Robinson and 3rd is extraordinarily ornate and beautiful. It was built in 1912 and faced east to Robinson. The center three bays of the nine bays across the facade were doorways, with the other six being windows. The post office was on the ground floor with the courtroom above. The Courtroom has been restored to its art deco look and is where Machine Gun Kelley was tried in 1933 for the kidnapping of OKC oil millionaire Charles Urschel.
In 1919, a west addition was added and the entrance was moved to the south side on 3rd St. (now Dean A. McGee Ave.) Then, in 1937, the west addition was completed and a nine-story central tower was constructed over the 1919 addition. It deviates from the original Beaux-Arts architecture and is considered Modernistic. The building covers the full half-block between Robinson and Harvey.
The building now houses the U.S. Bankruptcy Court with hearing rooms and clerk on the first floor. Floors 7 thru 9 house the beautifully restored old District Courtroom which is used by the bankruptcy judges. Two judges have offices on the 9th floor flanking the centrally located courtroom.
Floors 2 thru 6 house government offices: U.S. Dept of Agriculture, U.S. Army and additional bankruptcy offices. There is a third floor crossover between this building and the Federal Court building which is to the North, facing N.W. 4th Street.