The Gerald W. Heaney Federal Building, United States Courthouse and Custom House in Duluth, Minnesota, is a courthouse of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. Completed in 1930, it is part of the Duluth Civic Center Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. In 2007 the United States Congress passed an act to rename the building for former Circuit Court judge Gerald Heaney. It was enacted into law that same year.
Building history
Duluth was a small copper mining town until 1869, when it became the railhead for the first transcontinental railway. Its proximity to Lake Superior made it an excellent location for shipping grain. Located near large forested areas, Duluth's sawmills thrived by the end of the nineteenth century, and the city became the nation's fifth busiest seaport. In 1892, the city's first federal building—a post office, courthouse, and custom house—was constructed.
As the city continued to expand, officials decided to create a civic center and in 1907 invited prominent architect and planner Daniel H. Burnham to develop a plan that would include a new county courthouse, city hall, custom house, federal office building, and plaza. A pioneer in city planning, Burnham was responsible for the layout of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, as well as city plans for Chicago and San Francisco. His plans emphasized the relationship between buildings and their sites. Burnham's design for Duluth, which the city commissioners unanimously endorsed in 1908, incorporated components of the City Beautiful movement, which espoused the use of formal arrangements, axial streets, and monumental, classical public buildings in city planning.
The county courthouse and city hall were constructed first. In 1916, the federal government purchased a site within the civic center for the construction of the new federal building. The U.S. Post Office, Courthouse and Custom House was designed in 1928 by Office of the Supervising Architect under James A. Wetmore, after Congress approved a $1.2 million appropriation. Construction commenced the following year and was completed in 1930.
The building has undergone several renovations. In 1970, the post office vacated the building for a new location, and the first floor was insensitively altered. The building name was changed to the Federal Building, U.S. Courthouse and Custom House at that time. In 2005, as part of the First Impressions program, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) restored historic components of the building that were removed or compromised during earlier modifications.
Architecture
The building is located on the west side of the Duluth Civic Center. Designed in the Renaissance Revival style of architecture, the building is compatible with the other buildings that form the Duluth Civic Center Historic District. The Renaissance Revival style was commonly selected for prominent public buildings because it conveyed the dignity of the government. The building displays many classical elements such as a balustrade, columns, symmetry, and classical motifs, including medallions and dentils (square blocks) that define the Renaissance Revival style. The Federal Building, U.S. Courthouse and Custom House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Duluth Civic Center Historic District in 1986.
The building is faced with polished granite and has a terra-cotta cornice. A flight of granite stairs with granite abutments leads to the first level of the building. A terrace enclosed by a classical balustrade encircles the building. The first story features rusticated granite with tall round-arch openings topped with scrolled keystones. Small, rectangular paired windows are above the arches. The upper stories, which are defined by a string-course and faced with smooth, ashlar blocks of granite, are dominated by two-story engaged Doric columns that separate large windows. These simple columns indicate the location of interior courtroom spaces. Cast-iron spandrels separate the windows, and carved granite spandrels with eagle motifs are located at each end of the facade. Each column is topped with a medallion. Above the columns, the terra-cotta cornice features a dentil course and decorative anthemia (honeysuckle or palm leaf ornaments) at the roofline.