"William Aiken, supervising architect for the U.S. Treasury Department, designed the 1897 Pueblo Federal Building along the lines of an Italian Renaissance Palazzo. Aiken designed numerous federal buildings for Washington, D.C, and for other cities, including the U.S. Mints in Philadelphia and Denver." (from (
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"Located at the corner of Fifth and Sixth Streets, the Federal Building, otherwise known as the Post Office Building, was completed and dedicated in the year 1897, at a cost of $275,000.
The Post Office is characteristic of many other fine government structures constructed in the late 1800's, though it is the only example of this type of architecture in the region. The basic plan of the building is rectangular and is distinctively compatible with the surrounding structures, though the massing of units are visually nonidentical and non row-related. It is a four story stone building, with a rear rectangular wing. The roof is flat with an offset chimney to the: left rear, which is identical in shape to the main tower of Louis Sullivan's Grand Opera House which once stood to the left of the Post Office. The facade is quite ornate with its complex projecting frontispiece, intricate wrought.iron window guards, radiating voussoirs with a decorative keystone, quoins, and variety of cornices and capitals. Because this building represents a unique mix of many stylized elements, it is impossible to refer to one particular style, though its basic form is revival of Italian Renaissance Palazzo design of Florence and Rome. Outstanding details are: (1) the arched windows on the third floor, east side, that are Venetian influence; (2) the east shields topping the giant order pilasters on the east facade at the attic story; and (3) the strap work ornament, above the north entrance, which seems to be a Flemish or Dutch derivative.
Minor alterations have occurred since 1897. In the 1930's, the cresting was removed when the roof was repaired (refer to rendering). "? Interior alterations took place on the third floor where the two court rb'dms were located. The east courtroom was never used to any great extent and has been converted into office space. The west courtroom on the other hand has been used through the years as a Federal courtroom and contains the original furnishings. This includes the back bar trimming which was hand carved, and represents a lost art. The Federal Building contains 61,301 square feet of floor space, or a total of 44 rooms, not including the Post Office workroom, rest rooms, corridors, or vaults. In 1934, a rear addition was added to the original building and completed in 1935." (from (
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The building is now a combination of government and commercial offices as well as a restaurant.