The Robert N. C. Nix Sr. Federal Building and United States Post Office,"Robert N. C. Nix, Sr. Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, Philadelphia, PA"
on the

United States General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...

websitePhoto of identifying plaque on the building
/ref> formerly known as the United States Court House and Post Office Building, is a historic building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

History

Built between 1937 and 1941, Nix Federal Building was designed by Harry Sternfeld in the

Moderne Moderne may refer to: * Moderne architecture, styles of architecture popular from 1925–1940s * PWA Moderne, an architectural style in the U.S., 1933–1944 * Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco archit ...

style and features several sculptures and reliefs by Donald De Lue and Edmond Amateis. It was renamed in December 1985 in honor of

Robert N.C. Nix Sr. Robert Nelson Cornelius Nix Sr. (August 9, 1898 – June 22, 1987) was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1958 until 1979. He was the first African Americans in the United States Congress, African ...

, a longtime Democratic Congressman from Pennsylvania's 1st Congressional District in Philadelphia, and the first African-American to represent Pennsylvania in Congress. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

in 1990,Newbury, Diana E. (1989) NRHP Nomination Form for US Court House and Post Office BuildingEnter "public" for ID and "public" for password to access the site. and is part of the Mark East neighborhood.

Architecture

The building is located in

Center City Philadelphia Center City includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia. It comprises the area that made up the City of Philadelphia prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854, which extended the city borders to be coterminous wi ...

on a lot bounded by Market Street to the north, Ninth Street to the east, and Chestnut Street to the south, and an alley to the west. Its seven stories have a height of about above grade and include a basement, a mezzanine between the first and second floors, and two penthouses. It measures along Chestnut and Market Streets by along Ninth Street. A light court provides access to outside air and light from the third to the sixth floor. The steel structure is encased in concrete and the foundation and basement walls are reinforced concrete. Interior walls are concrete, clay tile, or brick. The base of the building is faced with Milford pink granite with Indiana limestone covering most of the facades facing the street. Buff-colored brick covers the facades of the interior light court. Central air-conditioning was a feature of the original construction, but records indicate that more than 270 window units were installed over time, and then removed during a 1989 restoration. Handicapped access was installed at the eastern entrance on Market Street, but otherwise the exterior appears as it was originally designed. The first floor is occupied by a post office, while courtrooms and a law library occupy the second floor. Upper floors contain offices,

open plan Open plan is the generic term used in architectural and interior design for any floor plan that makes use of large, open spaces and minimizes the use of small, enclosed rooms such as private offices. The term can also refer to landscaping of ...

office space, meeting rooms and similar spaces. The National Archives at Philadelphia is entered on Chestnut Street. The facility "maintains the historically significant records of the Federal Agencies and Courts, in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, dating from 1789 to the present" and is open to the public.National Archives at Philadelphia website
/ref>

Gallery

File:Courthouse Cowboy.jpg, ''Mail Delivery – West'', a relief by Edmond Amateis, by the Ninth Street entrance nearest Market St. File:Justice Highsmith De Lue 02448u.jpg, ''Justice'', relief by Donald De Lue east of the Market Street entrance File:Highsmith De Lue Law 02449u.jpg, ''Law'', also by de Lue, west of the Market Street entrance

Notes

References

External links