United States Post Office and Court House (Davenport, Iowa)
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United States Post Office and Court House
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U.S. Courthouse, October, 2008
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| Location | 131 E. 4th St. Davenport, Iowa |
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| Coordinates | 41°31′24″N 90°34′24″W / 41.52333°N 90.57333°WCoordinates: 41°31′24″N 90°34′24″W / 41.52333°N 90.57333°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1933 |
| Architect | Seth J. Temple |
| Architectural style |
Moderne Art Deco |
| NRHP reference # | 05000192 |
| Added to NRHP | March 25, 2005 |
The United States Courthouse, Davenport, Iowa is a historic post office and courthouse building located in Davenport in Scott County, Iowa. It is a courthouse for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.
Part of the site occupied by the courthouse was previously the site of an 1891 post office, completed in 1896 under the supervision of architect Willoughby J. Edbrooke. The 1891 building also became home to an office of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa in 1904. A wing added in 1909 did little to alleviate the crowding in the building. The city experienced an economic boom during the 1920s that lasted into the early 1930s. The construction of high-rise buildings downtown, including hotels and department stores, spurred the need for a new building to house the post office and federal courts. By 1932, the Great Depression had put many people out of work. Federal projects, including construction of a lock and dam, improvements to the seawall, and road construction provided employment for Davenport residents.
In 1930, Congress appropriated $655,000 for the construction of a new federal building on the site of the 1891 building, plus the purchase of two adjacent parcels. Demolition of the early post office and courthouse took place in April 1932.
Construction of the new building took just over 500 days.
Local architect Seth J. Temple designed the building, which was commissioned by the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury. Temple studied at the American Academy in Rome and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and taught at the University of Illinois School of Architecture in Urbana. Other Davenport buildings that Temple designed include Davenport Hall, the Union Bank and Office building, and the Blackhawk and Burlington hotels.
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