United States Courthouse of the District of Columbia: This courthouse, also known as the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse, is a significant part of DC's legal landscape.
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Completed in 1952, the U.S. Courthouse for the District of Columbia was one of the last buildings constructed in the Judiciary Square and Municipal Center complex, which has been an important site for civic activity since the 1820s. Designed by nationally renowned architect Louis Justement, the courthouse is an almost entirely unaltered example of the early 1950s Stripped Classicism that was predominant in federal architecture after World War II. Responding to the emerging government style of stripping classicism, the building displays many tenets of European modernism combined with a more traditional, classical design vocabulary.
The U.S. Courthouse accommodates all the necessary court functions and activities within a single building for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The multi-function building is indicative of Justement's concepts of space planning that set a precedent for contemporary technology utilization in courthouse buildings. Serving as the setting for numerous important trials and hearings in the past, the U.S. Courthouse retains its vital role within the city.
DC Inventory: April 26, 2007
National Register: July 5, 2007
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Exterior view of the historic E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse which houses the U.S. District Court and U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Washington, D.C.
Built in 1949-1950, the building is an example of early 1950's stripped classicism that was a popular architectural style amongst government buildings after World War II. President Harry S. Truman laid the cornerstone on June 27, 1950 and the courthouse became one of the last buildings constructed in the Judiciary Square and Municipal Center complex in November 1952. | Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA | Date: 2016
Exterior view of the historic E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse which houses the U.S. District Court and U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Washington, D.C.
Built in 1949-1950, the building is an example of early 1950's stripped classicism that was a popular architectural style amongst government buildings after World War II. President Harry S. Truman laid the cornerstone on June 27, 1950 and the courthouse became one of the last buildings constructed in the Judiciary Square and Municipal Center complex in November 1952. | Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA | Date: 2016