{"nrhp_refnum":"11000160","name":"United State Post Office, Courthouse, and Federal Building","other_names":["John W. McCormack U.S. Post Office and Courthouse"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"5 Post Office Square","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.36167403500005,"lon":-71.05882962454527,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2011-04-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A federal Art Deco skyscraper at 5 Post Office Square in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, built between 1931 and 1933. It combines post office workrooms, courtrooms, and federal offices, and is also known as the John W. McCormack Post Office and Courthouse.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is significant under Criterion A for its ties to federal government administration and the federal courts in Boston, Massachusetts and the nation. It housed Boston-area headquarters for nine federal departments and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. It also reflects an unusual collaboration between the Supervising Architect of the Treasury and the Boston firm Cram and Ferguson, and it provided local jobs for construction and New England quarries.","narrative":"Rising 331 feet on Devonshire Street, this Art Deco skyscraper occupies a full city block at 5 Post Office Square in downtown Boston. Built from 1931 to 1933, it holds post office workrooms, courtrooms, judges' chambers and federal offices in 628,007 square feet. Its steel and reinforced concrete frame is faced in New England granite and Indiana limestone, with terra cotta, marble and aluminum ornament. Three towers of differing height rise above a five-story base. Treasury Supervising Architect James A. Wetmore produced the building plan, while the Boston firm Cram and Ferguson designed the façade and principal interiors. Granite from Massachusetts and New Hampshire quarries was chosen to provide local work. Inside, varied New England marbles, bronze grilles and ziggurat motifs distinguish the lobbies, stairways, seven original courtrooms and library. The building was recognized for its link to federal administration in Massachusetts, its role as a federal courthouse and seat of the First Circuit appeals court, and its distinctive design.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"James A. Wetmore, Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department (building plan); Cram and Ferguson (façade and primary interior spaces)","architectural_style":"Modern Movement: Art Deco","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Current function is government office, under rehabilitation.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:10:51.811213-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/90/7970/63797090/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/11000160.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000160/5ed4f28801-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000160/5ed4f28801-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Carol M. Highsmith","credit_html":"Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Corridor,_John_W._McCormack_U.S._Post_Office_and_Courthouse,_Boston,_Massachusetts_LCCN2010719350.tif"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63797090","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_W._McCormack_Post_Office_and_Courthouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16892943"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/united-state-post-office-courthouse-and-federal-building-11000160/"}