The Tomochichi Federal Building and United States Court House is a

court house A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-s ...

of the

United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia The United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia (in case citations, S.D. Ga.) is a federal court in the Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appea ...

located in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...

. It was built between 1894 and 1899, and substantially enlarged in 1932. The building was listed in 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 1974 as Federal Building and U.S. Court House, and was renamed in honor of the

Creek Indian The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsTomochichi Tomochichi (to-mo-chi-chi') (c. 1644 – October 5, 1741) was the head chief of a Yamacraw town on the site of present-day Savannah, Georgia, in the 18th century. He gave his land to James Oglethorpe to build the city of Savannah. He remains a p ...

in 2005.

Building history

Tomochichi Federal Building and Court House 2021b

The building is located on a prominent site within the city's National Historic Landmark District. The building occupies an entire city block on the western side of

Wright Square Wright is an occupational surname originating in England. The term 'Wright' comes from the circa 700 AD Old English word 'wryhta' or 'wyrhta', meaning worker or shaper of wood. Later it became any occupational worker (for example, a shipwright i ...

, bounded by Bull, York, Whitaker, and State streets. The building makes an important visual contribution architecturally to the city due to the high quality of its design and materials, and as such is individually listed in the

. Designed in the Second Renaissance Revival style, with richly carved ornamentation, it is one of the most distinguished and imposing buildings of its era in Savannah. The building was constructed primarily to house the Savannah post office, which was previously located in the U.S. Custom House. In 1889, work had just begun on a new post office at the corner of York and Abercorn Streets when construction was suspended because the citizens of Savannah wanted a "more suitable" building than the one originally planned. As a result, the U.S. Congress was persuaded to appropriate additional funds for the new post office, and in 1894, excavations began at a new site in the southern half of the block now entirely occupied by the building. This site itself was notable in Savannah's history as the former location of a court house where John Wesley, founder of

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

, had preached in 1736 and 1737. The original building was designed between 1893 and 1894, during

W. J. Edbrooke Willoughby James Edbrooke (1843–1896) was an American architect and a bureaucrat who remained faithful to a Richardsonian Romanesque style into the era of Beaux-Arts architecture in the United States, supported by commissions from conservative ...

's tenure as

Supervising Architect of the Treasury The Office of the Supervising Architect was an government agency, agency of the United States Treasury Department that designed Federal government of the United States, federal government buildings from 1852 to 1939. The office handled some of the ...

. The building cornerstone lists

Jeremiah O'Rourke Jeremiah O'Rourke, FAIA, (1833 – 1915), was an Irish-American architect known primarily for his designs of Roman Catholic churches and institutions and Federal post offices. He was a founder of the Newark-based architectural firms of Jeremiah ...

as the architect. Originally designated as the U.S. Post Office and Court House, the structure was later renamed the Federal Building and U.S. Court House. By July 30, 1899, all departments of the post office were in the new government building. It also housed the U.S. Courts, the U.S. Engineers, and the U.S. Weather Bureau. The building was enlarged between 1930 and 1932, when it was extended north to encompass the remainder of the block. Today, the building serves as offices for the U.S. District Court and Court-related functions.

Architecture

Designed in the

Second Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range ...

style, the original portion of the building is constructed entirely of white Georgia marble, and features the typical

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italia ...

tripartite facade divisions characteristic of the style. The richly varied

fenestration Fenestration may refer to: * Fenestration (architecture), the design, construction, or presence of openings in a building * Used in relation to fenestra in anatomy, medicine and biology * Fenestration, holes in the rudder of a ship to reduce the w ...

is one of the most prominent characteristics of the building. Various forms are skillfully used, resulting in distinct yet unified facade treatments. The original portion of the Federal Building and U.S. Court House (visible on the York Street side and in the southernmost bay on Bull Street) is a richly ornamented, rectilinear building, to which an L-shaped wing was added in 1932 to form the current U-shaped plan. The main facade of the original building faced President Street. In the 1930s, President Street was closed and the building was extended north to State Street, enlarging it to over twice its original size. The 1932 addition was executed in marble with terra cotta ornamentation emulating the marble detailing of the original building. The building is three stories in height, with a granite/ashlar foundation. On both the original building and the 1932 addition, scale is carefully manipulated as the building rises on the exterior-from the heavily rusticated base with massive semicircular arched openings, to the third floor where triple arched openings are used to give the appearance of a colonnade. The building's exterior ornamentation, both that executed in marble on the original portion of the building and the terra-cotta detailing on the extension, is rich and varied. Motifs relating to nature—including flowers, animals, and fruit-are incorporated into the frieze (the carved band below the eaves) alternating with medallions of variously colored marble. Similar motifs are repeated above certain windows and at the bases of the main entrance arches. Two carved faces (one on the north facade and one on the south) are traditionally said to be likenesses of the architect, Jeremiah O'Rourke. Arched entrance openings, which occur singly, in pairs, or tangentially connected, on the street level of the building give the appearance of an arcade. On the second level, flat-topped windows are recessed in double-arched openings, continuing themes established on the street level. These arched openings are successfully mixed with flat-topped window openings. The third level displays an even more intricate composition of forms. Here, flat-topped windows recessed in triple-arched openings are combined with flat-topped windows topped with elaborately carved semicircular panels. These latter openings, which are hung singly and in triplicate, provide continuous visual unification of patterns and forms. The elaborate carvings over many of the openings are similar to the stylized motifs found elsewhere on the building. The walls terminate in a Corinthian entablature consisting of an elaborate frieze, dentil course, and bracketed cornice. The red pantile roof with tile cresting and ornamental ball finials was manufactured by the well-known

Ludowici Roof Tile Ludowici Roof Tile, LLC., based in New Lexington, Ohio, is an American manufacturer of clay roofing tiles, floor tiles, and wall cladding. The company was established in 1888 with the formation of the Celadon Terra Cotta Company in Alfred, New ...

Company. One particularly imposing feature of the building is a 150-foot marble bell tower rising from the north center of the original 1899 building. The tower is square in plan with two levels of open loggias near the top. These loggias are arcaded with colored marble disks above the architrave on the first level, and arched openings with a bracketed balcony on the second. Savannah post office tower finkelstein

Although the interior has been substantially renovated to accommodate various tenants through the years, original materials-including 1899 fireplace mantles in some rooms on the upper floors of the south wing-are still evident in parts of the building. In other areas, later dropped ceilings have been removed, returning many rooms to their original height and exposing original window transoms. In the 1980s a new courtroom was constructed in the first floor postal work area of the 1899 building. In 1995, the attic was converted to a fitness center with a cathedral ceiling. Recent U.S. General Service Administration preservation efforts include restoration of the third floor courtroom in the 1932 addition and replication of historic lighting in the 1899 lobbies.

Significant events

* 1894-1899: Construction of the U.S. Post Office and Court House, later renamed the Federal Building and U.S. Court House, takes place. * 1932: A major addition more than doubles the building's size. * 1974: The building is listed in the

. * 1992-93: The U.S. General Services Administration completes the restoration of the lobby, third-floor courtroom, and other spaces. * 1999: U.S. Postal Service vacates the building.

Building facts

* Architect: Jeremiah O'Rourke * Construction Dates: 1894-1899, Addition 1930-1932 * Landmark Status: Listed in the

* Location: 125-127 Bull Street, on Wright Square * Architectural Style: Second Renaissance Revival * Primary Materials: White Georgia marble, terra cotta, and marble ornamentation * Prominent Feature: Marble bell tower and elaborate exterior ornamentation

Attribution

* Federal Judicial Center page on the Tomochichi Federal Building and U.S. Court House
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References

External links

Federal Judicial Center page on the Tomochichi Federal Building and U.S. Court House
* {{National Register of Historic Places Federal buildings in the United States Federal courthouses in the United States Courthouses in Georgia (U.S. state) Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Government buildings completed in 1899 Government buildings in Savannah, Georgia 1899 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) National Register of Historic Places in Savannah, Georgia Wright Square (Savannah) buildings