Fort Smith US Post Office and Courthouse
|
Judge Isaac C. Parker Federal Building
|
|
 |
|
 
|
|
| Location | 30 S. Sixth St., Fort Smith, Arkansas |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 35°23′10″N 94°25′36″W / 35.38611°N 94.42667°WCoordinates: 35°23′10″N 94°25′36″W / 35.38611°N 94.42667°W |
| Area | 2.1 acres (0.85 ha) |
| Built | 1937 |
| Architect | Simon, Louis; Melick, Neal A., et al. |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| NRHP reference # | 99001406 |
| Added to NRHP | December 13, 1999 |
The Judge Isaac C. Parker Federal Building, also known as the Fort Smith U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, in Fort Smith, Arkansas, was built in 1937 in Classical Revival style. It served historically as a courthouse of the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, and as a post office. It was renamed in 1996 for the famous "hanging judge" Isaac C. Parker, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
From the early 19th century Fort Smith was a main stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail route from Tipton, Missouri to San Francisco. The area also had the reputation of being "the end of civilization", and the gateway to the West and the Indian territories of Oklahoma. As such, the federal court under Judge Isaac C. Parker (historically known as the "hanging judge") was active, trying 13,000 cases in 21 years. Judge Parker's court was headquartered at the barracks of the second Fort Smith, a few blocks from the present building, now part of Fort Smith National Historic Site. Fort Smith evolved into an area of great federal activity in the 19th century, and $100,000 was allocated for a federal courthouse and post office building in 1887. The building, completed in 1889, was located at Rogers Avenue and Sixth Street. The imposing Romanesque structure served as the main post office and as the federal courthouse until the present structure was built in 1936.
The present building was constructed less than thirty feet behind the 1889 building on the same site, and workers moved from one building to the other before the 1889 building was demolished. It is not clear why the federal government decided to demolish one building and build another to fulfill the same purpose. Perhaps there was a need for more space and Fort Smith became part of the intense federal building activity in the 1930s. In 1964, the building was expanded with the addition of two wings which were designed to complement the 1936 structure.
...
Wikipedia