Location: 231 W Lafayette Blvd, Detroit, MI 48226
During the early 1900s, noted entrepreneurs opened automotive plants in Detroit, Michigan, that forever changed American transportation and the small city where they located. As auto production expanded from twenty thousand vehicles in 1904 to five million in 1929, new residents flocked to Detroit and the population grew tenfold to about 1.5 million in 1930. Due to this rapid expansion, the existing Romanesque Revival style federal building could no longer meet demands, and plans for its replacement were formulated.
In 1931, Congress appropriated $5.5 million for a new post office and courthouse to be built on the same site as the existing 1897 building. Vehemently opposed to the planned demolition, Chief Judge Arthur J. Tuttle lobbied successfully to save his courtroom. The marble and mahogany space was carefully dismantled so it could be reinstalled in the new structure.
Private architect Robert O. Derrick (1890–1961) received the commission to design the building. A New York native, Derrick moved in 1921 to Detroit, where his most notable projects included historic building replicas and restorations at the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village.
In October 1931, demolition of the 1897 post office and courthouse began, and construction of the new building commenced in spring 1932. On October 12, 1932, citizens gathered to witness an elaborate cornerstone laying ceremony, which included a parade, speeches by prominent officials, and an airplane flyover. The U.S. Post Office and Courthouse opened in March 1934.
After the U.S. Postal Service vacated the building in the early 1970s, the interior was remodeled and new courtrooms were added. In 1995, the building was renamed in honor of Theodore Levin (1897–1970), who was appointed by President Harry Truman to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in 1946. Levin served as chief judge from 1959 to 1967, after which he carried a full caseload until his death in 1970.
In 2009, the building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Detroit Financial District.
Facts
- Architect: Robert O. Derrick
- Construction Dates: 1932-1934
- GSA Building Number: MI0029ZZ
- Landmark Status: Listed in the National Register of Historic Places
U.S. General Services Administration
