Pueblo Federal Building and Post Office HABS No. C0-186 421 North Main Street Southwest corner of North Main Street and West Fifth Street City of Pueblo Pueblo County Co 1orado

PHOTOGRAPHS WRITTEN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE DATA

HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY Rocky Mountain Regional Office National Park Service P.O. Box 25287 , Colorado 80225-0287 Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 1

HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY ~AB.> PUEBLO FEDERAL BUILDING AND POST OFFICE c.01...0 PUEBLO, COLORADO ~J-P\Ae~ l-

Location: 421 North Main Street, Pueblo, Colorado, the southwest corner of North Main Street and West Fifth Street, on Lots 1 through 6, Block 34, Pueblo.

Quadrangle Map: Pueblo Northeast, Colorado (1961, photorevised 1970 and 1974).

UTM Coordinates, 13/534260/4235770

Date of Construction: 1896-98 (addition, 1935-36)

Present Owner: U.S. Postal Service, 421 N. Main Street, Pueblo, Colorado.

Present Use: U.S. Post Office and federal offices occupy first floor; upper floors are vacant.

Significance: The Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice was the first federal building erected in the city and the second constructed in Colorado. The building housed the main post office, United States courts, and federal agencies for almost a century. Designed by , Supervising Architect for the Treasury Department, the Federal Building was one of the most architecturally influential edifices in the city, setting construction and design standards for subsequent development. The building continues to serve as one of Pueblo's most significant downtown landmarks.

Historians: Thomas H. Simmons and R. Laurie Simmons, Front Range Research Associates, Inc. , Denver, Colorado, January 1996 Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 2

Three-fold fortunate then is Pueblo in its government building. It has been completed in a remarkably short time, it is architecturally beautiful, finished most magnificently, with conveniences of the most advanced type and it will result in an improvement in the character and class of buildings to be put up for all time to come. 1

Historical Background

Introduction

As the number of government employees expanded dramatically during the late nineteenth century, federal buildings proliferated in America and flourishing towns across the country sought their erection as an indication of municipal importance. 2 Federal buildings reflected "the latest in architectural style and technology and, symbolically, membership in the Union. 113 These buildings, serving often as focal points of the urban environment, were viewed by local residents as important additions to the architectural heritage of the city. Congress had established the position of Supervising Architect in 1864 to manage the burgeoning roster of Treasury Department construction projects. By 1893, the Office of Supervising Architect was responsible for 297 completed buildings and another ninety-five in the process of construction. 4

The first Pueblo post office was established on 13 December 1860, with W.S. Catterson as postmaster. 5 In 1861, when Pueblo became a territorial county seat, the office was located in a small wooden building on Santa Fe Avenue. The post office remained in the Santa Fe Avenue facility until growth of the community prompted the construction of the Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice in 1898. The new building at the southwest corner of North Main Street and West 5th Street was the second federal building erected in Colorado (See Location Map) . 6

1Pueblo Chieftain, 29 May 1898. 2Robert Peck, "US Property Keep Off," Progressive Architecture (July 1976): 46-51. 3Lois A. Craig, The Federal Presence: Architecture, Politics, and National Design (Cambridge, Mass.: The M.I.T. Press, 1984). 4c raig,. 99. 5Maxine Benson, 1001 Colorado Place Names (Lawrence, Kan. : University of Kansas Press, 1994), 173. 6Denver had received its federal building in 1892. H. James Kolva, "Neither Sleet Nor Snow ... The U.S. Postal Service Comes to Colorado, " Colorado Heritage 1 ( 19 8 7) : 2; and The Pueblo Star- Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 3

An Act of Congress on 7 February 1891 authorized the acquisition of a site and erection of a building to house a United States post off ice and other government offices in Pueblo at a cost not to exceed $225, 000. The Act failed to appropriate any funds for construction. In the typical piecemeal appropriation pattern for federal buildings of the day, an Act on 3 March 1891 allocated an initial $100,000 for the site acquisition and construction of the building, with subsequent appropriations on 2 March 1895 and 4 June 1897 providing funding for a total amount not to exceed $300,000. 7

Site Selection

Proposals for the site of the new building were submitted to the Secretary of the Treasury on 9 April 1891. 8 The selection of a location for the building was delayed for several months by a bitter dispute between residents living on the north side of Pueblo and those living on the south. J.B. Gordon, who had erected a five-story building at Broadway and Abriendo in 1891, had almost completed an agreement to sell the edifice to the government as a federal building when north side political leaders learned of the plans. The northsiders immediately began a campaign to convince the government to accept a building site on the north. Mass meetings of citizens representing the rival groups culminated in torchlight parades. Attorneys for both sides were dispatched to Washington to present information to government officials. In August 1891, the Treasury Department instructed an agent from Washington to travel to Pueblo and personally examine the proposed sites, meet with the disputing parties, and formulate a recommendation. 9

The northsiders selected a location at the corner of Fifth and Main owned by O.H.P. Baxter as the best available site to offer the government. Baxter had torn down a mill on the property when the Grand Opera House was erected and agreed to donate his land to the government as an added incentive for selection of the site. The

Journal, undated clipping in the files of McClelland Public Library, Pueblo, Colo., "Postal System Clippings." 7U.S. Department of the Treasury, Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Year Ending September 30, 1891 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1891), 131-132. 8Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Year Ending September 30, 1891, 131-132. 9 "Six-year Political Fight Delayed Building of Federal Building Here, " undated clipping in files of McClelland Public Library, Pueblo, Colo., "Postal System Clippings." Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 4

LOCATION MAP

SOURCE: Extract of U.S. Geological Survey, "Northeast Pueblo, Colorado," 7.5 minute quadrangle map, 1:24,000 scale (Reston, Virginia: U.S. Geological Survey, 1960, photorevised 1970 and 1974). The circle indicates the location of the Pueblo Federal Building and Post Office. Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 5 southsiders offered J.B. Gordon's completed building to the Treasury Department . 10 The Treasury agent spent several days inspecting the sites, listening to representatives of both groups, and documenting the two locations for his report. In October 1891, the Treasury Department appointed a commission to settle the site question. In November, the commissioners recommended that the new federal building be erected on the B2xter property at Fifth and Main. The Treasury Department paid $1 for the land on 19 August 1892 and requested proposals for survey of the site on 30 August in preparation for beginning the design of the building. 11

Architect William Martin Aiken

The final drawings for the Federal Building were completed under the direction of William Martin Aiken, the Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department. 12 Aiken made a personal visit to Pueblo to examine the building site in order to insure that the structure was appropriate for the local setting. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1835, Aiken was educated in local schools and graduated from the University of the South. His architectural training was obtained from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from which he graduated in 1879. Aiken subsequently worked for H.H. Richardson in Brookline, Massachusetts, William Ralph Emerson in , and James McLaughlin in , Ohio. In 1886, he set up his own practice in . 13

In April 1895, President Grover Cleveland appointed Aiken Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department. The Office of Supervising Architect was frequently criticized in the nineteenth century for the length of time required for completion of buildings, political partisanship, excessive costs, and failure to employ outside architects in its projects. Western Architect

10Gordon' s building was eventually completed as a hotel. Before it formally opened, the building was demolished by fire. 11 "Six-Year Poli ti cal Fight Delayed Building of Federal Building Here;" and U.S. , Department of the Treasury, Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Year Ending September 30, 1892 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1892), 123-124. uAiken's name appears on the front of drawings of the Pueblo Federal Building maintained by the Postal Service in Denver. 13Henry F. Withey and Elsie R. Withey, Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (Deceased) (Los Angeles, California: New Age Publishing Company, 1956), 11-12; and New York Times, 8 December 1908. Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 6 observed that "a change came in the off ice of the Supervising Architect when William Martin Aiken was appointed. He, like his predecessors was a political appointee, but he used his influence to get the office upon a more ethical basis. 1114 The Supervising Architect's staff, including Aiken's successor, , also paid tribute to Aiken's efforts to reform the office:

He came at a time when Federal architecture was the subject of much public criticism and his constant aim while Supervising Architect was to improve conditions as he found them, and to his credit, long to be remembered, we can testify that a new and better era was dawning with reference to the design and construction of public buildings when he laid down his office.~

While Aiken served as Supervising Architect for a period of just over two years, he was responsible for the design of many government buildings, including structures for expositions in Atlanta, Nashville, and Omaha, and numerous courthouses, customhouses, and post offices. The U.S. mints in Denver and have also been attributed to Aiken.~

In June 1897, upon the inauguration of President William McKinley, the Secretary of the Treasury asked for and received Aiken's resignation. American Architect and Building News commented that Aiken's tenure reflected "high training and perfect integrity, and that he labored earnestly and successfully to make the Government building-work a creditable feature in the artistic development of the country." 17

Aiken returned to private practice in 1897 and designed Roper Hospital and other public buildings in Charleston, South Carolina. In his later years, Aiken returned to New York, where he served as consulting architect for the Borough of Manhattan and worked on remodeling the interior of the New York City Hall and the New York County Courthouse. William Martin Aiken died in December 1908. 18

Design and Construction

More than three years elapsed from the date of the site acquisition

14western Architect, 13 (April 1909) :38. 15American Architect, 23 December 1908, 213-14. 16withey and Withey, 12; and John Leonard, ed. Who's Who in America (Chicago: A.N. Marquis & Co., 1906), 15. 17American Architect and Building News, 8 May 1897, 42. 18Wi they and Withey, 12 . Pueblo Federal Building and Post Office Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 7 to the completion of the architectural plans for the building. The Supervising Architect's annual report for 1892 stated that sketch plans and estimates for the building had been commenced. 19 The annual report for 1894 noted that the sketch plans had been approved, "but owing to limited technical force the working drawings have not yet been completed. 1120

In March 1895, the Pueblo Chieftain noted that preliminary sketches of the building had been prepared by the Office of Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department and detailed plans were to be completed during the summer. As described by the newspaper, the preliminary sketches contained elements which would be included in the final design, including the use of white stone and entrances on both the Fifth and the Main sides of the building. However, final drawings eliminated a proposed tower surmounting the building and enlarged the structure from three to four stories. 21 The Supervising Architect's annual report for 1895 noted that twenty authorized buildings, including that in Pueblo, had not been "commenced by reason of the lack of technical force. 1122

A year later, the final drawings were being prepared, with plans to complete the actual construction of the building within twelve to eighteen months. A representative from Pueblo who visited the Supervising Architect's office in Washington in March 1896 noted that James Knox Taylor, who would succeed Aiken as Supervising Architect in 1897, "was pushing the Pueblo building all he could and was taking great pride in it."n The drawings at that date still included the tower, the construction was to be of stone and brick, and the building was described as "Spanish Renaissance" in style.M

The design of the building was influenced by the City Beautiful

19Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Year Ending September 30, 1892, 123-124. 2°u. S., Department of the Treasury, Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Year Ending September 30, 1894 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1894), 51. 21 Pueblo Chieftain, 21 March 1895. 22U. S. , Department of the Treasury, Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Year Ending September 30, 1895 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1895), 4. 23Pueblo Chieftain, 16 March 1896. MPueblo Chieftain, 16 March 1896. Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 8

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ARCHITECT'S RENDERING, 1896

SOURCE: U.S. Department of the Treasury, Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Year Ending September 30, 1896 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1896) . Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 9 concept of creating monumental public buildings with exquisite detailing and classical references. The Supervising Architect was aware of the building's importance to the community and the impact it would have on future construction in the city. Aiken's attempt to harmonize the building with its setting produced a "Spanish Renaissance" design with elements reflecting the local environment, the surrounding architecture, and stylistic themes popular during the era. A published drawing of the building signed by Aiken reveals his perception of the southwestern atmosphere of the town through the inclusion of a street scene with men wearing ponchos and leading burros. The use of white limestone, arched openings, decorative balconies, and elaborate window ornamentation reflected "Spanish" elements considered appropriate for the setting.

The appearance of the Pueblo Federal Building was also influenced by an existing significant building on the south end of the same block, the Grand Opera House. The Grand Opera House had been designed by renowned Chicago architect Louis Sullivan. In planning the opera house, Sullivan advised local citizens that "a building should be adapted to the climate of the locality in which it is built." Sullivan also recommended that "every city should have an architecture which is distinctly its own." The Grand Opera House, a four-story building with arcaded first story, projecting cornice, and s~uare central tower was composed of carved and rusticated stone. 5

On 18 July 1896, the firm of L.L. Leach and Son, of Chicago, Illinois, was awarded the general contract for erection and completion of the Federal Building, with a bid of $187,774. The Supervising Architect's Annual Report, issued on 30 September 1896, noted that the construction had thus far been confined to general excavation of the site. 26 Other contracts were awarded to Winslow Brothers Company for window grilles, J.J. Hanighen for plumbing, Charles B. Kruse Heating Company for heating, and the Gardner Elevator Company for a passenger elevator. 27

25 Joanne West Dodds, Pueblo: A Pictorial History (Norfolk, Va.: The Donning Co., 1982), 86. 26u. S., Department of the Treasury, Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasurer for the Year Ending 30 September 1896 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1896), 54. 27U. S. , Department of the Treasury, Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Year Ending 30 September 1898 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1898), 74; and U.S., Department of the Treasury, Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 10

The completed stone and brick building contained 866, 100 cubic feet. Steel floor beams, tile floor beds and partitions, and the use of noncombustible materials in the permanent parts of the building ensured that it was fireproof. A light court on the southern side of the building provided sunshine and fresh air for the upper stories. Above the first floor postal facilities were thirty-nine office rooms. The third floor contained a two-story district court room on the east and an identical circuit court room on the west. 28 The building was heated by a steam system operated by four boilers which also supplied power for the pumps operating the hydraulic elevator near the Fifth Street entrance. The final total cost of construction was $275,076.98.~

Historical Uses

The Federal Building served as the main Pueblo post office, U.S. Courthouse, and federal office building for almost a century. The Postal Service was first to occupy the new building, establishing itself on the first floor and basement on 28 May 1898. The first postmaster to serve in the new building was Charles Seaver, appointed 7 February 1898. Seaver' s previous experience had included service as a doorkeeper for the U.S. Senate. 30

The public was invited to inspect the building on the evening of 1 June 1898 and the corridors were "filled with admiring people." After viewing the new building, the Colorado Chieftain remarked that "Pueblo people now receive their mail from the finest government building in the west." The newspaper described the exterior of the building as "handsome, and the interior from basement to roof is just as complete and elaborate ... The wainscoting of marble, the elaborate woodwork, the rich mosaic floor, and the decorative features of the ceiling are specimens of the artisans' highest skill. "31

Finish work continued on the upper stories of the structure over

Treasury for the Year Ending 30 June 1899 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 91. 28US Department of Treasury. A History of Public Buildings Under the Control of the Treasury Department (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1901), 55. 29Annual Report of the Supervising Architect to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Year Ending 30 June 1899 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1899), 91. ~"Six-year Political Fight Delayed Building of · Federal Building Here." 31 Colorado Chieftain, 2 June 1898. Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 11

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SOURCE: Pueblo Chieftain, 29 May 1898. Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 12 the next several months. The second floor was occupied by the Land Off ice, Deputy Revenue Collector, Deputy Surveyor of Customs, Weather Bureau, Inspector of Post Offices, custodian's office, and janitor's office. The third floor contained district and circuit court rooms, the judges offices and chambers, clerk's rooms, attorney's office, offices for the United States Marshall, and a law library. The fourth floor housed the Government Assayer, Special Pension Examiner, Railway Mail Clerk's dormitory, Civil Service Board, and jury and witness rooms. All federal agency tenants, with the exception of the Land Office, were installed in the building by the end of 18 98. 32

In October 1898, the first session of the federal district and circuit courts opened, with Judge Moses Hallett presiding. The Pueblo Chieftain noted that the courtrooms of the building were elaborate in their fittings and convenient in arrangements." Judge Hallett remarked that "it is the first time that the federal courts have been held here in a building owned by the government; and the room itself is so admirable in every way that we should be inclined to use very strong langua~e if we were prepared for such celebration of the occasion." 3

In January 1899, the Pueblo Chieftain judged that "by far the most conspicuous edifice in the city completed is the federal building 1134 and announced that "the erection of the building marks a new era in the construction of such edifices for the government." Throughout the country, the erection of a new federal building had previously been typified by a lengthy period of construction and the newspaper remarked that it had previously been common for the erection of a federal building to take so long that it extended from the oldest inhabitant's "callowest youth" to his twilight years. In this regard, the Pueblo building was notable for the speed of its construction, taking less than two years to complete. 35

The Federal Building was notable for a second reason: the building was designed with specific reference to its intended setting, to the local climate, and to its neighboring buildings. The Pueblo Chieftain stated that previously constructed federal buildings were "somber, even absolutely ugly, with no regard whatsoever for harmony with the permanent buildings around them erected by private

32Pueblo Chieftain, 1 January 1899. ncolorado Chieftain, 20 October 1898. 34Pueblo Chieftain, 1 January 1899. 35 Pueblo Chieftain, 29 May 1898. Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 13

capital. 1136 The Supervising Architect 1 s personal examination of the site ensured that the building related to the town and its setting and was a fitting neighbor for the Grand Opera House. The result was that "the city has a group of two buildings that in their aggregate attractiveness surpass anything in the west. There is in the architecture of each a fitting consideration of climatic conditions that is too little regarded as a rule. A softness of outline presented by each fits the mild, sunny climate of Colorado to perfection. 1137

A third significance attached to the building upon its completion. As the Pueblo Chieftain noted, "the construction of the government building gives to Pueblo its first example of the latest development of interior steel construction and modern fireproof methods."~ Denver's Brown Palace Hotel, erected in 1892, had been one of the first steel frame, fully fireproof buildings in the country. When construction began on the Pueblo Post Office, steel frame construction was considered standard for major buildings and within the structure each room was designed as "well-nigh a separate fireproof vault with nothing to burn except what might be termed fixtures."~ Local citizens hoped that the erection of the building utilizing the latest in technological advances would set the standard for all future construction in the city. That the Federal Building's architecture was influential is evidenced in the design of the 1914 Thatcher Building across the street, which paid homage to the earlier building in its quality construction, arcaded lower stories, and projecting cornice.

The receipts of a post off ice were considered an indication of the prosperity of the business community and the construction of a federal building typically bolstered local business and employment.~ Post Office business in Pueblo increased immediately following completion of the building and the average number of letters mailed daily more than doubled in the following year. 41 In 1908, the Pueblo Post Office was classed with post offices doing between $100,000 and $300,000 worth of business annually, having been previously classed with offices with between $40, 000 and $100,000 in annual receipts.

Government off ices housed in the Federal Building during the first

36Pueblo Chieftain, 27 May 1898. nPueblo Chieftain, 27 May 1898. ~Pueblo Chieftain, 29 May 1898. 39Pueblo Chieftain, 29 May 1898. 40Pueblo Chieftain, 1 January 1908; and Craig, 165. 41 Pueblo Chieftain, 1 January 1899. Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 14

PHOTOGRAPH (View Southwest), 1901

SOURCE: U.S. Department of the Treasury, A History of Public Buildings Under the Control of the Treasury Department (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1901), 54. Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 15 decade of the twentieth century included, in addition to the Post Office and courts, the Land Office, Marshall's Office, Weather Bureau, Customs Office, Internal Revenue Office, and Pension Bureau. During the following decade, government offices housed in the building included the Land Office, Internal Revenue, Postal Inspector, Weather Bureau, U.S. District Attorney, U.S. Marshall, U.S. Commissioners, Railway Mail, and Civil Service Commission. During the 1920s, the building provided space for an Army Recruiting Station, Civil Service Commission, District Attorney, Forest Service (San Isabel National Forest), Internal Revenue, Land Office, Marine Recruiting, Weather Bureau, U.S. Marshall, Naval Recruiting, Postal Inspector, and Railway Mail Service, in addition to the Post Office and courts.~

The Flood of 1921, which devastated much of the city, brought several feet of water into the Federal Building. The disaster failed to damage postal records which were secure in built-in wall vaults high above the floor of the building. The building was threatened once again the following year when the Grand Opera House was consumed by fire. Postal employees hastily moved record cabinets away from the southern wall of the building, fearing the northern wall of the opera house would fall against the Post Office. The fire began in a top floor dance hall in the Grand Opera House and resulted in the collapse of its roof and all floors of the building but did not damage the fireproof Federal Building. 43

In March 1935, work began on a new two-story addition on the west side of the Federal Building. The construction resulted in the removal of a mailing platform on the west and the erection of a two-story brick and stone addition. The addition, completed in 1936, was composed of limestone and brick with a first story cornice matching that of the original building. Extensive interior remodeling of the Post Off ice Department was also undertaken and a hipped skylight was replaced with two shed roofed skylights.

Louis A. Simon, Supervising Architect 1933-1939, is listed on the addition drawings. 44 The F. J. Kirchhof Construction Company of

42R.L. Polk and Co., Pueblo City Directory (Pueblo, Colo.: Pueblo Chieftain Press, 1905, 1917, 1921, and 1929). ~The Pueblo Star-Journal, undated clipping in the files of McClelland Public Library, Pueblo, Colo.; and Dodds, Pueblo, A Pictorial History, 86-87. 44Louis A. Simon, Supervising Architect, "Remodeling and Extension," 15 November 1934, Drawings 100-A and 101-A, U.S. Postal Service, Pueblo, Colorado. Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 16

SANBORN FIRE INSURANCE MAPS, 1904 AND 1947

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SOURCE: Sanborn Map Company, JI Pueblo, Colorado, JI fire insurance maps, 1904 and 1947. Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 17

Denver was awarded the contract for the project with a bid of slightly more than $130,000. Excavation was performed by the local firm of Arthur and Allen and Stephan and Lambert Plumbing and Heating Company of Pueblo supplied the plumbing and heating. E.C. Elliott, a government engineer, supervised the work and hired local men as much as possible to provide labor for the project. About fifty men were employed for several months on the project, thus obtaining work during the economically depressed era.~

During the 1930s, the Federal Building housed, in addition to the Post Office and courts, Army and Navy recruiting stations, an Army Reserve Officers' Headquarters, the Civil Service Commission, the Forest Service, the Internal Revenue Service, the Land Office, the U.S. Marshall's office, the Weather Bureau, and a Prohibition Department office. In the 1940s, government agencies using the facility for the first time included the Alcohol Tax Unit, Bank Examiners, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Census, and the Farm Security Administration. During the postwar era, the building continued its historic function of providing workspace for postal activities, the federal courts, and government agencies. 46

On 3 January 1978, the Pueblo Federal Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1992, the Postal Service indicated that a new main post off ice would be erected, replacing the functions of the 1898 building and consolidating it with the Midtown Center Post Office. Functions remaining in the building in 1993, in addition to the Postal Service and federal courts, included the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Civil Service Commission, Corps of Engineers, and Probation and Parole Offices. 47 In 1994, the federal courts moved from the building. By January 1996, only the Postal Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service occupied offices in the Pueblo Federal Building and Post Office. 48

Architectural Description

The original 1896 architectural drawings of the Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice, together with drawings of the 1936

45 Pueblo Chieftain, 11 March 1935; 13 March 1935; 17 March 1935. 46R.L. Polk, Pueblo City Directory, 1932, 1940, and 1946 (Pueblo, Colo.: Pueblo Chieftain Press, 1932, 1940, and 1946). 47R.L. Polk, Pueblo City Directory, (Kansas City, Mo.: R.L. Polk Co., 1993). ~Pueblo Chieftain, 18 March 1995. Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 18 addition, are housed in the basement of the building. Included with this report are photographic copies of those drawings, which encompass all elevations, two renderings of interior details, and two drawings relating to the 1936 addition (HABS photo nos. C0-186- 16 through C0-186-23). Copies of six floor plans produced in 1934 are located at the end of the narrative. Also included in the report (in the Historical Background) are a photocopy of an historic photograph of the building and copies of two published historic architectural renderings depicting the Fifth and Main sides of the building.

The Pueblo Federal Building is a rectangular government off ice building consisting of the original 1898 four-story building, U­ shaped above the first floor, and the 1936 two-story rectangular western addition. The building has a solid, monumental appearance, designed in what the Treasury Department termed the "Spanish Renaissance" style, with symmetrical faces and crowned by a bold cornice (HABS photo no. C0-186-1). The building is distinguished by elaborated entrances on each street face, varying window treatments on each story, application of sculptural ornament and elaborate moldings, composition of stone and brick, and an abundance of classical details.

Walls of the first story of the building on the street sides are composed of coursed, smooth faced ashlar of Bedford, Indiana, limestone sitting atop a foundation of Colorado red granite with a molded limestone water table. All stories of the three bay, slightly projecting, central portion of the eastern face are clad with limestone. Above the first story, the remaining portions of the eastern side and the southern side are composed of gray Roman brick from St. Louis, Missouri, laid in running bond, and trimmed with Bedford limestone and green marble. The southern side is composed of gray Roman brick and the 1936 addition continues the use of limestone on the first story of the street faces and brick on the upper story and rear.

The building is divided horizontally by a heavy molded limestone cornice above the first story, a molded second story sill course, and a molded limestone belt cornice between the third and fourth stories. The white limestone of the first story also provides a strong horizontal contrast to the gray brick of the upper stories. The low roof is crowned by a projecting cornice with modillions.

The Main Street (eastern) face of the building is divided into five bays, with the slightly projecting central three bays forming an entrance tower which is clad with limestone and elaborately ornamented (HABS photo nos. C0-186-2, C0-186-3, and C0-186-16). The raised, central, round arched entrance has double doors set in Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 19 deep marble clad reveal and surmounted by an arched transom. 49 The entrance has embellished archivolt molding with a carved keystone and springers and is flanked by large windows with similar archivolt molding (HABS photo no. C0-186-4). The window openings contain four single-light casement windows crowned by large round arched transoms and have paneled aprons, molded sills, and decoratively cast wrought iron grilles (HABS photo no. C0-186-5). Clustered pilasters support the first story cornice and bracket the entrance and windows of the central projection. Ashlar quoins ornament the corners of the eastern side and the central entrance projection.

The flat arched double-hung windows of the central portion of the second story of the eastern side are flanked by coupled, slender pilasters supporting consoles of the third story ornamental balustrade. The windows share a molded sill course and a molded stringcourse runs above the windows. Flanking the central section are conjoined second and third story windows with elaborate limestone surrounds. Second story double-hung windows are flanked by classical half-columns supporting panels clad with green marble and topped by smaller third-story windows with ornamental balustrades, paneled surrounds, and carved sculptural urns. The third story windows feature carved limestone crowns with circular ornaments of green marble.

The elaborate fenestration of the central three bays of the third and fourth stories is highlighted by slender, round arched windows in groups of three bracketed by engaged spindles and surmounted by fourth story oculus windows. Dividing the upper two stories vertically are pilasters topped by sculptural ornaments consisting of eagles atop shields depicting emblems relating to the postal service and federal courts. The pilaster capitals have vertical grooves, a motif repeated in the sills of the small fourth story windows flanking the three-bay projection.

The Fifth Street (northern) face of the building is divided into seven bays, with a slightly projecting, elaborated, central, three­ story, limestone frontispiece (HABS photo nos. C0-186-6 and C0-186- 17). The inset entrance has a round arched opening with elaborated archivolt molding with carved keystone and an arched transom above double doors. The entrance is flanked by coupled, paneled pilasters with Corinthian capitals. The windows of the first story of the northern side are identical to those of the first story of the eastern face.

49The original paneled double doors of both street side entrances have been replaced with glazed metal double doors. Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 20

The elaborate architectural composition of the frontispiece above the central entrance includes coupled windows facing a decorative spindled balustrade, flanked by pilasters enframing recessed niches, and surmounted by an elaborately carved frieze (HABS photo no. C0-186-7). The curved coping bracketing the surround of the second story forms an ornamental silhouette. The top, or third story, of the frontispiece is composed of a single window with paneled limestone apron and scroll ornaments, and crowned by a stone sculpture with shield. The frontispiece at the third story is flanked by panels with herringbone bond brickwork.

Conjoined windows of the second and third stories of the northern side are identical to those of the eastern. A shared limestone sill course and short brick piers supporting the columns of the second story windows create a paneled course under the windows. The arcaded fourth story of the northern side has small, round arched windows with limestone archivolt molding separated by brick panels and resting on the molded limestone cornice course. The arcaded windows, which have limestone sills with vertical grooves, are flanked by flat arched windows at each end.

The southern side of the building, which abuts an alley, is U­ shaped above the first story (HABS photo nos. C0-186-8 and C0-186- 19). The windows of the first bay nearest the street continue the ornamentation of the northern face. The exposed basement level of the southern side is composed of granite. First story windows are double-hung, with rectangular transoms, some now containing metal louvers, and limestone sills. Windows facing the light court above the first story are segmental arched. The light court contains metal stairs. A brick chimney, twenty-seven feet tall, is located at the southwestern corner of the east leg of the U.

The exterior of the building remains retains a high degree of integrity although several modifications have been made during almost a century of continuous use. In 1906, Postmaster Walpole advertised for a contractor to provide gutters for the building. Although the Federal Building had been designed to be compatible with the local setting, it was quickly evident that Pueblo's climate was not totally understood by the architects in Washington, who had probably believed that gutters were not necessary due to the small amount of rainfall Pueblo receives annually. The building was not originally equipped with gutters which conducted water from the roof to sewers and the omission resulted in the sidewalks being covered during rain showers. 50

50Pueblo Chieftain, 9 February 1906. Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 21

In 1936, a western addition to the building was completed which obscures much of the original western side of the building. The original drawing of the western elevation (C0-186-18) reveals that the western side was a less elaborate version of the eastern face of the building. Among the original features of the western side which are still visible are a third story window with limestone crown and the upper two stories of the slightly projecting central portion of the building with the groups of narrow, round arched windows surmounted by oculus windows.

The walls of the addition are slightly inset from the walls of the original building (HABS photo nos. C0-186-9, C0-186-20, and C0- 186-21). The northern side of the addition has a red granite foundation with basement level windows covered with metal grilles and the first story is composed of coursed limestone which extends to the first bay of the western side of the addition. The windows of the first story mimic those of the older portion of the building but do not have wrought iron grilles. The addition continues the first story cornice of the original portion of the building and sill course of the second story windows. The second story windows of the addition are double-hung, with alternate windows having flat limestone surrounds. The addition has a molded limestone course topped by a cornice with panels of limestone. The western side of the addition includes a loading dock sheltered by a flat roofed hood.

Although the plans for the addition included the removal of the hipped roof skylight covering the first story below the light court and its replacement with two angled skylights, this area is now entirely enclosed and no skylights are visible. Another remodeling removed the elegant cresting which graced the roof of the building. Two tall flagpoles on the roof have also been removed.

The interior of the building has undergone more extensive remodeling, al though several notable original features remain. Entrance vestibules adjacent to both street entrances are composed of paneled wood with marble baseboards (HABS photo nos. C0-186-10 and C0-186-23) . The walls of the vestibules feature paneled pilasters dividing windows and supporting an entablature which is tied to the architrave molding along the walls of the lobby. The lobby walls are clad with gray marble, with pink marble baseboards. The architrave molding of the lobby is supported by marble clad pilasters; above the molding are plastered walls and paneled pilasters extending to the cornice (HABS photo no. C0-186-11). The ceiling is divided into square coffers with dentil molding. Between pilasters of inner walls and along the hall on the north are brass post office boxes cast with decorative eagles (HABS photo no. C0-186-12). Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 22

Adjacent to the Fifth Street entrance is an open newel, cast iron staircase with marble treads leading to upper floors (HABS photo nos. C0-186-13 and C0-186-23). The railing of the staircase has iron filigree and foliate ornamentation (HABS photo no. C0-186-14). Metal railings have been added to the curved section of stairs immediately below the first landing. Marble wainscot clads the wall adjacent to the stairway. The passenger elevator, located to the east of the staircase, no longer has the elaborate ornamentation shown on original building drawings and has been converted to self-service use (HABS photo no. C0-186-23).

The second through fourth floor hallways of the original portion of the building display tesserae marble mosaic floors with exterior fretwork patterns. The first floor originally featured this type of flooring but it is no longer visible. Gray marble wainscot with pink marble baseboards also ornaments the walls of the upper stories. Nearly all of the ceilings on the upper floors have been lowered, including the two-story ceilings of the courtrooms, and are now covered with a suspended acoustical tile system. While some modern doors have replaced original ones, most office entrances feature paneled wood doors with wood surrounds. Some entrances have inset, paneled wood jams. The double door entrance to the third floor Law Library has double five-panel doors with paneled surrounds and an entablature with egg and dart molding supported by consoles (HABS photo no. C0-186-15).

The third floor was the site of the two federal courtrooms, which were designed to be exactly alike (HABS photo no. C0-186-22). Entrances to the courtrooms retain leaded glass transoms with ornamental shields. The eastern courtroom has been remodeled, with the paneled wainscot and elaborate wood carvings behind the judge's dais removed. The western courtroom was converted from courtroom use some time ago and no longer has any remnants of its original ornamentation. The ceilings of both courtrooms have been lowered and covered with acoustical tile. Four S.H. Harris vaults are located near the courtrooms and a holding cell is situated in the southwest corner.

The fourth floor includes a jury room at the southeast corner with a separate stairway to the third floor courtroom area. Two S.H. Harris vaults are located in the northeast corner of the fourth floor.

Project Information

This Historic American Buildings Survey of the Pueblo, Colorado, Federal Building and Post Office was prepared for the U.S. Postal Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 23

Service because the building is being transferred out of federal ownership. The documentation was produced by Front Range Research Associates, Inc., Denver, Colorado for the U.S. Postal Service. Thomas H. Simmons and R. Laurie Simmons served as project historians, researched the history of the building, and wrote the documentation narrative. Mr. Simmons conducted a field examination of the exterior and interior of the building in December 1995. Large format, archival photography of the exterior and interior of the building was completed in November 1995 by Roger Whitacre, Denver, Colorado. Mr. Bill Tate produced large format, archival photographs of the building's construction drawings in September 1996.

Project participants for the U.S. Postal Service included Ms. Pat Ferrari, Asset Management, Memphis, Tennessee, who administered the project. Tom Stephen and Stan Ward, Denver District Customer Services, supplied reduced copies of original construction drawings of the building. Photography, fieldwork, and research in Pueblo was facilitated by Bob Podio, Postmaster; Bob Sprouse, Public Affairs Officer; Tony Barrett, Maintenance Supervisor; and Luis Vasquez, Custodian. Pueblo Federal Building and Post Office Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 24

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SOURCE: U.S. Postal Service, Pueblo, Colorado, Pueblo Federal Building Architectural Drawings. Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 25

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SOURCE: U.S. Postal Service, Pueblo, Colorado, Pueblo Federal Building Architectural Drawings. Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 26

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SOURCE: U.S. Postal Service, Pueblo, Colorado, Pueblo Federal Building Architectural Drawings. Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 27

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SOURCE: U.S. Postal Service, Pueblo, Colorado, Pueblo Federal Building Architectural Drawings. Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 28

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SOURCE: U.S. Postal Service, Pueblo, Colorado, Pueblo Federal Building Architectural Drawings. Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 29

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SOURCE: U.S. Postal Service, Pueblo, Colorado, Pueblo Federal Building Architectural Drawings. Pueblo Federal Building and Post Off ice Pueblo, Colorado HABS No. C0-186 Page 30

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