U.S. Post Office and Courthouse

[Pete]

Address: 200 NW 4th
Built: 1912
Floors: 9
Sq. Feet: 148,224
Acreage: 2.52
Architect: John Knox Taylor

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The U.S. Post Office and Courthouse was the first monumental structure in Oklahoma City and served as an anchor for future federal development. Plans for the construction of the building began in 1903 when Congress appropriated funds for a downtown facility. Due to the region's rapid growth, original funding was insufficient and additional money was allotted in 1906, 1908, and 1910. The U.S. Post Office and Courthouse was the first federal building constructed in Oklahoma, which became a state only five years prior to the building's 1912 completion.

Two important cases were decided in this building. James "Machine Gun" Kelly, a notorious outlaw of the Prohibition era, was found guilty of kidnapping Oklahoma City oilman and millionaire Charles Urschel. Kelly was sentenced in 1933 to life in prison and sent to Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay. Kelly's trial was the first in the nation to allow sound and picture equipment in a federal courtroom. In 1949, the case of McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education was heard. The court's decision desegregated graduate schools in Oklahoma.

The U.S. Post Office and Courthouse is part of a Federal complex that included a separate courthouse constructed in 1959 and the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. In April 1995, a terrorist bomb destroyed the Murrah building causing tragic injuries and fatalities. Portions of the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, most notably the tower, were damaged by concussions from the blast. Repairs were made to windows, ceiling tiles, and lights. Today, the site of the bombing is the Oklahoma City National Memorial. A new federal building is located several blocks north of the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse.

The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. In 1992, the U.S. General Services Administration completed a restoration of significant interior spaces. The restoration was recognized with awards from the Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office and the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Although the post office relocated in 1966, the building continues to function in its historic capacity as a federal courthouse and office building.
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