U.S. Post Office & Federal Courts Building, 235 East Plume Street, Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia

Significance: During the period 1880 to 1917, Norfolk emerged as an international port, witnessing a doubling of its population and land area. An extensive building boom occurred in the city center as well as in the surrounding county. As a direct consequence of this activity, the U.S. Government commissioned the firm of Wyatt and Nolting to design a new building for the city's post office and federal courts. That architectural firm was responsible for a number of architectural landmarks in Baltimore and in the Washington, D.C. area. Norfolk's Old City Hall, formerly the U.S. Post Office and Federal Courts Building, stands as an important and rare example of Neo-Palladian Revival. Neo-Palladianism draws upon the architecture of Palladio and his followers for its composition and detailing. The style, while popular in Europe at the end of the 19th Century, was overshadowed in the U.S. by the Greek- and Roman-influenced Neoclassical Revival.
Survey number: HABS VA-37
Building/structure dates: ca. 1900 Initial Construction