Federal Office Building - Nashville, Tennessee
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 36° 09.543 W 086° 46.880
16S E 519668 N 4001611
Also known as the Customs House, the building is a former Federal Building now a mixed use building in Nashville, Tennessee.
Waymark Code: WMGM52
Location: Tennessee, United States
Date Posted: 03/18/2013
Views: 4
The Customs House was built beginning in 1877 with the cornerstone laid by President Rutherford B. Hayes on September 19, 1877. The building was completed in 1882 with the completion of the clock tower. The stone building was designed by government architect William A. Potter in a Victorian Gothic Revival style. In 1903 an addition to the rear of building was completed and the wings were added to the building in 1916.
When constructed the building housed the post office on the first floor, treasury offices on the second and federal courts on the third. Additions federal agencies also had offices in the building. The post office left the building in the 1930s when a new post office was built a couple blocks away.
After serving as a federal courthouse and other government offices for nearly 100 years the building was declared excess in the mid-1970s following the construction of a new federal building a block away. Through preservation efforts by the City of Nashville the building was transferred to city ownership in 1979. Beginning in 1982 the initial renovation and restoration project was done to convert the building in to government and commercial office space. In 1994 another restoration project was undertaken to restore and expand court facilities for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and U.S. Trustee Department. The building now has major tenants of Federal courts and related offices, plus many smaller tenants from law firms, the IRS, telecommunications firms, public relations firms and other companies.
Street address:
701 Broadway
Nashville, Tennessee
County / Borough / Parish: Davidson
Year listed: 1972
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
Periods of significance: 1875-1899
Historic function: Government
Current function: Commerce/Trade, Government
Privately owned?: yes
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Hours of operation: Not listed
Secondary Website 1: Not listed
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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