811 Grand Blvd
Kansas City, MO, USA

National Register of Historic Places -U.S. Courthouse and Post Office-Kansas City, MO

Statement of Significance:

The U.S. Courthouse and Post Office, located at 811 Grand Boulevard in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, occupies a city block situated between 8th Street on the north, McGee Street on the east, 9th Street on the south, and Grand Boulevard on the west. A product of the "New Deal" program, the building's cornerstone was laid on October 20, 1938, and the first federal agency moved in on September 21, 1939. A dedication ceremony, attended by Harry S. Truman, then a U.S. Senator, was held on October 5, 1939. Under Criterion A, as a courthouse for the United States Circuit Court of Appeals and the courthouse for the United States District Courts for the Western District of Missouri from 1939 to 1998, the U.S. Courthouse and Post Office has a strong association with the interpretation and administration of the nation's legal code. In its capacity as both an appellate court and a district court building, the U.S. Courthouse and Post Office was the setting for several landmark desegregation, anti-trust, and criminal cases during the mid to late twentieth century. In addition to housing the federal courts and associated judicial offices, more than sixteen different government bureaus and departments also occupied the building, including a post office substation and Harry S. Truman's local senatorial offices.3 At the local level of significance, in Kansas City, the construction of the U.S. Courthouse and Post Office culminated a decade-long federal and local government-sponsored building program initiated to provide local employment and economic stimulus during the lean years of the Great Depression. Under Criterion A, the period of significance begins in 1939 with the building's construction and ends in 1952, the year of the landmark Swope Park swimming pool desegregation case.

Under Criterion C, the U.S. Courthouse and Post Office is an example of the work of the prominent Kansas City architectural firm Wight & Wight, renowned for its design of numerous depression era Neo-Classical civic and institutional buildings in Kansas City. The building is additionally an excellent example of New Deal-era federal architecture and illustrates a nationwide pattern of federal building projects during the Great Depression. As is characteristic of federal architecture constructed across the nation during the tenure of Louis A. Simon as Supervising Architect of the Treasury (1933-1939), the building conveys a restrained version of the Neo-Classical Revival and Art Moderne styles, also referred to as PWA Moderne. The character-defining architectural features of the U.S. Courthouse and Post Office remain intact and the building retains a high degree of all aspects of integrity. The replacement of the original window sashes and entrance doors does not significantly compromise the building's overall integrity. The significant interior spaces, including the main lobby, courtrooms, corridors, and elevator lobbies, retain their historic configuration and original finishes. Under Criterion C, at the local level of significance, the period of significance for the building is 1939, the year construction was completed.

The building is eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places under Criteria A and C and this finding is supported by a Statement of Opinion rendered by the Missouri State Historic Preservation Officer, dated February 18, 1993, which reads "The United States Court House and Post Office (Federal Courts Building) at 811 Grand Avenue [since changed to Boulevard], Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri is potentially eligible under criteria of evaluation C and A and areas of significance, Architecture and Government to wit: The building was designed by Wight and Wight, the renowned architectural firm responsible for several depression era governmental buildings constructed in Kansas City, including the Jackson County Courthouse (1934), City Hall (1937), and the Municipal Courts Building (1938). The Federal Courts Building was constructed in 1939, the last of the major governmental construction projects of the 1930's. While Wight and Wight were known for their Neo-classical work, these projects were distinctly Moderne, with many Art-Deco references. The austere Federal Courts Building reflects a clear transition from the historical references of the past and represents the ideals of the public works projects initiated under the Hoover and Roosevelt administration."