{"nrhp_refnum":"90001540","name":"US Court House and Post Office Building","other_names":["Robert N.C. Nix,Sr.,Federal Building","See Also:East Center Ci"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Jct. of Ninth and Markets Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.95099376100006,"lon":-75.22555958999999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-10-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A six-story Moderne federal building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, bounded by Market, Ninth and Chestnut Streets, housing a post office annex, courtrooms and government offices. It opened as a post office in 1939 and was fully occupied in 1941.","why_significant":"The building is argued to be a representative example of a federally funded Depression-era Public Works Administration project and one of a small number of high quality Moderne buildings in Philadelphia. Its design by local architect Harry Sternfeld uses air conditioning to isolate courtrooms at the center of the building, and its sculpture reflects federal art programs of the 1930s.","narrative":"Built in Philadelphia on a through-block site between Market and Chestnut Streets, this six-story federal building was completed for postal and court use, with the post office opening in 1939 and the structure fully occupied by 1941. Its Moderne facade is faced with limestone above a granite base, arranged in a tripartite composition with carved flutes and bas-relief sculptures of justice symbols. Designed by Harry Sternfeld, a Paris Prize winner and University of Pennsylvania professor, the building was funded under the Public Works Administration, and its design is regarded as one of a small number of high quality Moderne buildings in the city. Sternfeld used central air conditioning to place seven courtrooms and a law library at the center of the second and third floors, retaining separate public and private corridors. The courtrooms have red cedar paneling and original judges' benches, and the sculpture is by Donald De Lue and Edmond Amateis, whose work reflects the federal art programs of the 1930s.","period_of_significance":"1937-1941","architect_builder":"Harry Sternfeld (architect); Ballinger Company (architect)","architectural_style":"Moderne","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"The post office workroom and courtrooms remain in use, with the regional office of the National Archives and federal offices occupying parts of the first floor.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:37.193948-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/90001540.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001540/b961916983-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001540/b961916983-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Beyond My Ken","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Court_House_and_PO_Building_from_west_on_Chestnut_Street.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Beyond My Ken</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Court_House_and_PO_Building_from_west_on_Chestnut_Street.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"97001669","name":"West Philadelphia Streetcar Suburb Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/west-philadelphia-streetcar-suburb-historic-district-97001669/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997066","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nix_Federal_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7347916"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/us-court-house-and-post-office-building-90001540/"}