Edward T. Gignoux United States Courthouse
Encyclopedia
The Edward T. Gignoux U.S. Courthouse is a historic courthouse
building located at Portland
in Cumberland County, Maine
. It is the courthouse for the United States District Court for the District of Maine
.
, Supervising Architect
of the U.S. Treasury Department, the courthouse's classical details complement its neighbors surrounding Lincoln Park
, which include the U.S. Custom House (1872), Cumberland County Courthouse (1910), and Portland City Hall
(1912). The U.S. Courthouse was listed in the National Register of Historic Places
in 1974.
Construction of the U.S. Post Office Building near Lincoln Park in 1868 helped establish the area as a location for public buildings at the turn of the twentieth century. By 1908, the federal government had acquired a prominent site for a new courthouse adjacent to the park, and construction began that year. Knox designed a trapezoidal building with an interior courtyard to be constructed in two phases. The U-shaped first phase of construction was completed in 1911. In 1931-32, under the direction of James A. Wetmore
, Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department, Knox's original design was completed, closing the U. The new construction provided space for a post office and additional offices on the upper floors.
In 1988, the U.S. Courthouse was renamed in honor of Judge Edward T. Gignoux
, a veteran of 26 years on the bench, who had gained notoriety when he presided over the contempt trial of activists who attempted to disrupt the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968
.
In 1996, the courthouse underwent extensive modernization, which added two new courtrooms in the 1931-32 addition. The principal features and details of the first and second floors of the 1911 construction were rehabilitated and restored. As a result of the project, the Edward T. Gignoux U.S. Courthouse was awarded an Institutional Preservation Award from Greater Portland Landmarks in 1999.
The building's trapezoidal plan occupies an entire city block bounded by Federal, Newbury, Pearl, and Market Streets. The building's original U-shaped plan comprises the southwest portion of the block, with the 1931-32 addition completing the northeast side and enclosing the central courtyard. The courtyard is accessed through a porte-cochere on Federal Street, and features buff-colored brick walls with granite stringcourses and keystones for the walls.
The building's formal entrance, located at the angled corner at Federal and Market Streets, is marked by a large, triangular pediment that surmounts a Doric frieze and engaged columns decorated with banded rustication. The entrance leads into the elliptical Rotunda, an elegant and open two-story foyer with refined classical detailing. The Rotunda features a curving marble staircase with a balustrade of thin cast-iron balusters, rising to the second floor along the perimeter of the room.
The elegant public spaces are symmetrically composed using classical proportions and details for the bases, wainscoting, and crown molding. Stained wood finishes, such as oak and pine, are used in the courtrooms, corridors, and judicial chambers. Marble finishes and terrazzo floors are reserved for the courtrooms and the corridors in the first floor. Interior finishes in the 1931-32 addition reveal the reduced or — stripped — classical style of the era, as seen in the abstracted designs in the terrazzo flooring and the flattened moldings used for the door framing.
In 1992, a major renovation project began to modernize and renovate the historic fabric of the building. Space in the original 1911 floor plan was converted into the Court Clerk offices and a new Magistrate Hearing room. District Courtroom No. 1 was carefully restored to its original design — including arched casement windows, period light fixtures, original color palette, and replicated plaster moldings for the ceiling.
The renovations to the 1932 east wing allowed for significant alterations, most notably for the new District Courtroom No. 2, which features an open, two-story space illuminated by skylights and contemporary materials and finishes. The Edward T. Gignoux U.S. Courthouse remains a fine example of early twentieth century Federal architecture and an important historic landmark in Portland.
Courthouse
A courthouse is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English speaking countries, buildings which house courts of law are simply...
building located at Portland
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
in Cumberland County, Maine
Cumberland County, Maine
Cumberland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of 2010, the population was 281,674. Its county seat is Portland, and is the most populous of the sixteen Maine counties, as well as the most affluent. Cumberland County has the deepest and second largest body of water in the...
. It is the courthouse for the United States District Court for the District of Maine
United States District Court for the District of Maine
The U.S. District Court for the District of Maine is the U.S. district court for the state of Maine. The District of Maine was one of the original thirteen district courts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, even though Maine was not a separate state from Massachusetts until 1820...
.
Building history
When it was completed in 1911, the U.S. Courthouse in Portland, now known as the Edward T. Gignoux U.S. Courthouse, was the first federal courthouse in Maine. Its national stature combined with its distinctive Italian Renaissance Revival architecture brought prestige to Portland's civic center. Designed by James Knox TaylorJames Knox Taylor
James Knox Taylor was Supervising Architect of the United States Department of the Treasury from 1897 to 1912. His name is listed ex officio as supervising architect of hundreds of federal buildings built throughout the United States during the period.-Early career:The son of H...
, Supervising Architect
Office of the Supervising Architect
The Office of the Supervising Architect was an agency of the United States Treasury Department that designed federal government buildings from 1852 to 1939....
of the U.S. Treasury Department, the courthouse's classical details complement its neighbors surrounding Lincoln Park
Lincoln Park (Portland, Maine)
Lincoln Park is a urban park in downtown Portland, Maine. Created in 1866 following the 1866 Great Fire which burned down most of the buildings of Portland, it was named in honor of former President Abraham Lincoln. It is bounded by Congress, Pearl, Federal and Market streets...
, which include the U.S. Custom House (1872), Cumberland County Courthouse (1910), and Portland City Hall
Portland City Hall (Maine)
The Portland City Hall is the center of city government in Portland, Maine. The structure was built in 1909 and was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.- External links :...
(1912). The U.S. Courthouse was listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1974.
Construction of the U.S. Post Office Building near Lincoln Park in 1868 helped establish the area as a location for public buildings at the turn of the twentieth century. By 1908, the federal government had acquired a prominent site for a new courthouse adjacent to the park, and construction began that year. Knox designed a trapezoidal building with an interior courtyard to be constructed in two phases. The U-shaped first phase of construction was completed in 1911. In 1931-32, under the direction of James A. Wetmore
James A. Wetmore
James A. Wetmore was an American lawyer and administrator, best known as the Acting Supervising Architect of the U.S. Office of the Supervising Architect from 1915 through 1933. Wetmore is frequently and incorrectly described as the "architect" of the many federal buildings that bear his...
, Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department, Knox's original design was completed, closing the U. The new construction provided space for a post office and additional offices on the upper floors.
In 1988, the U.S. Courthouse was renamed in honor of Judge Edward T. Gignoux
Edward Thaxter Gignoux
Edward Thaxter Gignoux was a United States federal judge.Born in Portland, Maine, Gignoux received an A.B. from Harvard College in 1937 and an LL.B. from Harvard Law School in 1940. He was in private practice in Buffalo, New York from 1940 to 1941, then in Washington, D.C. from 1941 to 1942...
, a veteran of 26 years on the bench, who had gained notoriety when he presided over the contempt trial of activists who attempted to disrupt the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968
1968 Democratic National Convention
The 1968 Democratic National Convention of the U.S. Democratic Party was held at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois, from August 26 to August 29, 1968. Because Democratic President Lyndon Johnson had announced he would not seek a second term, the purpose of the convention was to...
.
In 1996, the courthouse underwent extensive modernization, which added two new courtrooms in the 1931-32 addition. The principal features and details of the first and second floors of the 1911 construction were rehabilitated and restored. As a result of the project, the Edward T. Gignoux U.S. Courthouse was awarded an Institutional Preservation Award from Greater Portland Landmarks in 1999.
Architecture
The Edward T. Gignoux U.S. Courthouse's Italian Renaissance Revival style reflects its architect's belief that classicism was well suited for federal buildings. Entirely faced with New England granite, the building is composed of two stories above a raised stone base. Each level is articulated on the exterior through the use of subtle variations in ornamentation and textures. The first story is characterized by channeled stone. It is distinguished from the second story by a stringcourse and by the second story's smooth masonry. Differentiation also occurs in the fenestration. While the first floor has recessed, rectangular windows with simple moldings, the second-story windows are larger and elaborately detailed with classical moldings, balcony balustrades, and crowning triangular and segmented pediments, some of which are set within large arched niches with keystones. A continuous frieze, dentil molding, and cornice finish the top of the wall, where a parapet caps the composition. A succession of circular dormer windows punctuates the attic story of the slate-shingled mansard roof. The exterior articulation and ornamentation of the 1931-32 addition faithfully replicates the architectural detail of the original 1911 construction.The building's trapezoidal plan occupies an entire city block bounded by Federal, Newbury, Pearl, and Market Streets. The building's original U-shaped plan comprises the southwest portion of the block, with the 1931-32 addition completing the northeast side and enclosing the central courtyard. The courtyard is accessed through a porte-cochere on Federal Street, and features buff-colored brick walls with granite stringcourses and keystones for the walls.
The building's formal entrance, located at the angled corner at Federal and Market Streets, is marked by a large, triangular pediment that surmounts a Doric frieze and engaged columns decorated with banded rustication. The entrance leads into the elliptical Rotunda, an elegant and open two-story foyer with refined classical detailing. The Rotunda features a curving marble staircase with a balustrade of thin cast-iron balusters, rising to the second floor along the perimeter of the room.
The elegant public spaces are symmetrically composed using classical proportions and details for the bases, wainscoting, and crown molding. Stained wood finishes, such as oak and pine, are used in the courtrooms, corridors, and judicial chambers. Marble finishes and terrazzo floors are reserved for the courtrooms and the corridors in the first floor. Interior finishes in the 1931-32 addition reveal the reduced or — stripped — classical style of the era, as seen in the abstracted designs in the terrazzo flooring and the flattened moldings used for the door framing.
In 1992, a major renovation project began to modernize and renovate the historic fabric of the building. Space in the original 1911 floor plan was converted into the Court Clerk offices and a new Magistrate Hearing room. District Courtroom No. 1 was carefully restored to its original design — including arched casement windows, period light fixtures, original color palette, and replicated plaster moldings for the ceiling.
The renovations to the 1932 east wing allowed for significant alterations, most notably for the new District Courtroom No. 2, which features an open, two-story space illuminated by skylights and contemporary materials and finishes. The Edward T. Gignoux U.S. Courthouse remains a fine example of early twentieth century Federal architecture and an important historic landmark in Portland.
Significant events
- 1903-08: The federal government purchases the site for a new courthouse.
- 1908-11: The first building phase of the U.S. Courthouse is completed.
- 1931-32: The U-shaped courthouse is enclosed with a connecting wing, following the building's original plan.
- 1974: The building is listed in the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. - 1988: The U.S. Courthouse is named in honor of Judge Edward T. Gignoux.
- 1992-96: A modernization project restores the original District Courtroom, and adds courtrooms and other facilities.
- 1999: The building receives the Institutional Preservation Award from Greater Portland Landmarks.
Building facts
- Architects: James Knox Taylor; James A. Wetmore
- Construction Dates: 1908-11; 1931–32
- Landmark Status: Listed in the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
- Location: 156 Federal Street
- Architectural Style: Italian Renaissance Revival
- Primary Materials: Granite
- Prominent Features: Rotunda and spiral staircase; District Courtroom