Building History   

The monolithic U.S. Courthouse in Buffalo, renamed in 1987 in honor of longtime Internal Revenue Service employee Michael J. Dillon, occupies an entire block along Niagara Square, the city’s civic center since 1802.  Construction of the seven-story sandstone and steel courthouse in 1936 resulted from Buffalo’s evolution as one of the country’s most important industrial centers, which brought numerous federal agencies to the city.  The courthouse concentrated the federal presence in an excellent example of the Art Moderne architecture favored for government buildings funded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programs.

Federal government facilities had become so overcrowded by 1928 that the citizens of Buffalo pressured Congress for a new building to house all Federal offices in the city.  The Emergency Relief and Construction Act of 1932 authorized the construction of a number of federal buildings, including the Dillon Courthouse.  Under the authority of the 1926 Public Buildings Act, the Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department was responsible for the design of all federal buildings.  Due to economic pressures on small architectural firms during the Depression, local architects received some of these commissions.  In January 1933, the Supervising Architect’s Office retained two influential Buffalo firms, Green and Sons and Bley and Lyman, to prepare plans for the new U.S. Courthouse. 

Because of the unusual shape of the site, the architects created a pentagonal building.  The courthouse is a unique example of Art Moderne architecture because of its unusual shape and low-relief carved ornament.  Originally planned as a twelve-story building, limited funding reduced its size to seven stories.  President Roosevelt dedicated the courthouse on October 17, 1936 – his speech emphasizing the vital partnership between the Federal government and local officials in creating public works to overcome the devastating effects of the Depression. 

In 2004, the Dillon Courthouse was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing element of the Joseph Ellicott Historic District in Buffalo.

Architecture

The Michael J. Dillon U.S. Courthouse occupies an entire block bounded by Niagara Street, Niagara Square, Court Street, and Franklin Street.  Located in the heart of the city, Niagara Square is surrounded by the Dillon Courthouse, the State Office Building, City Hall, and the City Court building. 

Resting on a granite base, the seven-story courthouse appears as a solid geometric mass of planar, yellow-gray sandstone walls and spare, carved detailing.  Each elevation is divided into bays of vertical windows.  The handsome carved detailing – emphasizing the building’s horizontality – is concentrated at the entries, the first floor level, and building parapets.  The fluted forms between the vertical strips of windows, on the other hand, resemble classical colonnades and provide a tension with the horizontality of the carved ornament. 

One of the two main entrances to the building, on Court Street, features a smooth stone surround into which is carved “United States Court House.” A monumental carved eagle perches above the door surround.  The entry doors, frames, and transoms are cast aluminum with ornamental grillwork.  A cast-bronze medallion is centered above the middle door. 

The interior of the building boasts several significant original spaces, including the main lobby, the post office lobby, and the financial lobby.  High ceilings and square fluted columns without capitals emphasize the importance of these spaces.  The walls and columns are clad in travertine, except where the financial lobby has been remodeled.  Details, such as light fixtures, window frames, screens, and desks are cast aluminum.  The courthouse floors consist of buff terrazzo bordered in dark green marble.  The main lobby is the most ornamented space.  Its ceiling features a fretwork molding decorated with polychrome floral panels.  Its drum-shaped light fixtures are set in aluminum frames featuring a star motif.  The main lobby floor is decorated with stars set within circles made of colored terrazzo.  The elevator lobbies retain original dark green marble wainscot and door surrounds, and most of the public corridors retain original terrazzo flooring. 

There are four original courtrooms in the building: the bankruptcy court on the fourth floor, two ceremonial courtrooms on the sixth floor, and another courtroom on the seventh floor.  The bankruptcy court has wood-paneled wainscot with a molded cap, and a dark green marble border and base.  The plaster ceiling is ornamented with a cornice and six medallions, from which are suspended original hexagonal bronze light fixtures. 

The sixth-floor ceremonial courtrooms and the seventh-floor courtroom are almost identical in their ornamental details, except for their ceilings.  The walls consist of wood paneling with elaborate detailing, and wood wainscot with wood moldings and wainscot cap. The walls are accented with a dark green marble base.  In the ceremonial courtrooms, an elaborate ornamental plaster band around the ceiling is composed of alternating squares with stars and flowers.  Six original drum-shaped light fixtures illuminate each of these courtrooms.  The plaster ceiling of the seventh-floor courtroom features a polychrome band of fretwork motif and two rows of medallions, from which original bowl-shape bronze light fixtures hang.

The U.S. Courthouse is an example of innovative collaboration between the Federal government and local architects through the site-specific design that stands as a significant architectural presence on Niagara Square.

Significant Events

1932: The Emergency Relief and Construction Act authorizes construction of several Federal buildings, including the courthouse in Buffalo.

1933: Two Buffalo architectural firms, Green and Sons, and Bley and Lyman, are retained to prepare plans for the U.S. Courthouse on Niagara Square.

1936: The cornerstone of the courthouse is laid and President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicates the building.

1987: The courthouse is named after Michael J. Dillon.

2004: The courthouse is nominated to the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing element of the Joseph Ellicott Historic District.

Building Facts

ARCHITECTS:   Green and Sons; Bley and Lyman

CONSTRUCTION DATE:   1936

LANDMARK STATUS:  Contributing element in the Joseph Ellicott Historic District

LOCATION:   68 Court Street

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE:  Art Moderne

PRIMARY MATERIALS:   Granite, yellow-gray sandstone, steel

PROMINENT FEATURES:  Pentagonal footprint; carved sandstone ornamentation; aluminum details; main lobby and postal lobby; courtrooms

The Michael J. Dillon U.S. Courthouse in Buffalo, New York, was featured in the 2004 Historic Building Poster and Brochure series.  Copies may be obtained by contacting the Center for Historic Buildings.  The poster is also available for downloading in PDF format.