United States Post Office and Courthouse (Baltimore, Maryland)

U.S. Post Office and Courthouse
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Courthouse east facade, May 2008
Location	111 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, Maryland
Coordinates	39°17′27″N 76°36′47″W / 39.29083°N 76.61306°WCoordinates: 39°17′27″N 76°36′47″W / 39.29083°N 76.61306°W
Area	1.3 acres (0.53 ha)
Built	1930
Architect	James A. Wetmore et al.
Architectural style	Classical Revival
NRHP Reference #	77001530[1]
Added to NRHP	March 25, 1977

The United States Post Office and Courthouse is a historic combined post office and Federal courthouse located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It occupies an entire city block and measures 238 feet, 2 inches east-west by 279 feet, 10 inches north-south. It is of steel frame construction with concrete floors and tile roof, basement of granite, and outer walls of white Indiana limestone. The structure is six stories in height and provided with basement and two sub-basements. It was completed in 1932 under the supervision of architect James A. Wetmore, and features classical ornamentation. Some notable court cases held in this building include:

• 1934: Judge W. Calvin Chesnut became the first jurist to strike down a New Deal Act of Congress.
• 1948: Alger Hiss filed a libel suit against Whittaker Chambers
• 1968 and 1969: the Berrigans were indicted in this courthouse for destroying Federal records as a protest against the Vietnam War.
• 1973: Vice President Spiro T. Agnew pleaded nolo contedre to tax evasion and resigned as Vice President.^[2]
• 2009: Mayor Sheila Dixon was tried for 12 counts including perjury, theft and misconduct. She was convicted of fraudulent misappropriation and eventually resigned as mayor as part of a plea bargain in the Sheila Dixon trial.

The U.S. Post Office and Courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.^[1] It has since been conveyed to the City of Baltimore, and is in use by the Baltimore city courts and known as Courthouse East.

References

1. National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
2. John W. McGrain, Jr. (July 1976). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: United States Post Office and Courthouse" (PDF). Maryland Historical Trust. Retrieved April 1, 2016.

External links

• Historic Federal Courthouses page from the Federal Judicial Center.
• United States Post Office and Courthouse, Baltimore City, including photo from 1985, at Maryland Historical Trust