United States Customhouse and Post Office (St. Louis, Missouri) facts for kids

United States Custom House and Post Office
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Location in St. Louis Show map of St. Louis Location in Missouri Show map of Missouri Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	815 Olive St. St. Louis, Missouri
Built	1873-1884
Architect	Alfred Bult Mullett
Architectural style	Second Empire
NRHP reference No.	68000053
Quick facts for kids Significant dates
Added to NRHP	November 22, 1968
Designated NHL	December 30, 1970

The U.S. Custom House and Post Office is a historic court house located at 815 Olive Street in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. It was designed by famous architects like Alfred B. Mullett and built between 1873 and 1884. This grand building is a great example of the Second Empire style, which was popular after the Civil War.

This building is special because it's one of only four Federal office buildings designed by Mullett that are still standing today. The others are in Washington, D.C., Raleigh, North Carolina, and Portland, Maine.

Building Design and Features

This large building is made of granite and has three main floors, plus a basement and an attic. It is about 234 feet (71 meters) long and 179 feet (54 meters) deep. The basement has very thick walls, about 10 feet (3 meters) thick, and is surrounded by a deep, dry moat. This moat helped bring in light and fresh air.

The basement also connects to a tunnel under 8th Street. This tunnel was used to deliver mail to the post office, which was a very busy place! The lower part of the building uses red granite from Missouri, while the upper floors are made of gray granite from Maine.

Inside, the building has very high ceilings. The first floor ceilings are about 26 feet (8 meters) tall, and the upper floors are about 22 feet (6.7 meters) tall. The building was designed to be "fireproof" using a mix of wrought and cast iron to support the brick floors. Windows even had special fireproof shutters.

The main entrance faces Olive Street and features a cool iron dome. You can also see a beautiful sculpture from 1877 called "America at War and America at Peace" by Daniel Chester French. Inside, the building was very fancy, with colorful glass panels, mosaic tile floors, and bronze door knobs that had the U.S. Seal on them. Many offices even had fancy marble fireplaces.

Photo taken from the south-east corner of the Old Post Office in St. Louis, Missouri. The photo shows the principal facade along Olive Street.

History of the Building

The Custom House and Post Office cost a lot of money to build, over $5.6 million back then! It was finished under the watchful eyes of architect James G. Hill and construction manager Thomas Walsh.

For many years, the third floor was home to the U.S. District Court. This court handled important legal cases until 1935, when it moved to a new location. The Post Office stayed in the building even longer, using the basement and first floor until 1970. Other government offices also used the fourth floor.

An old picture of the St. Louis Post Office from 1891.

Over the years, several important courts met in this building, including the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

In 2004, the building was given to the State of Missouri. Today, it's a busy place with many different uses. It houses federal, state, and private offices. For a while, Webster University had a campus here, and now Lindenwood University has its downtown campus in the building. The Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, also has offices here.