U. S. Post Office and Courthouse, Federal courthouse at Four Corners of Law in Charleston, United States.
The U.S. Post Office and Courthouse is a Second Renaissance Revival building completed in 1896, clad in gray granite from Winnsboro, South Carolina. Its first story has rock-faced coursed blocks and arched openings, while the second story features rectangular windows with triangular pediments and fluted pilasters. A square corner tower rises a full story above the Meeting and Broad streets corner, topped by an open balustrade.
Congress authorized funds for a new post office in 1887, and South Carolina architect John Henry Devereux, then Superintendent of Construction for the U.S. Treasury, designed it in the Second Renaissance Revival style. Construction finished in 1896 at a cost of $500,000, celebrated with a gala and a German band. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The building sits at the southwest corner of Meeting and Broad streets, an intersection known as the "Four Corners of Law." Each corner represents a different authority: the 1792 county courthouse, the 1802 City Hall, St. Michael's Episcopal Church (1752–1761) for divine law, and this federal post office and courthouse. The Charleston post office itself was established by George III in 1740.
The building is publicly accessible and located at a central intersection in Charleston where it is easy to reach on foot. Visitors should allow time to view both the exterior facade and interior details that showcase the building's craftsmanship.
The building was constructed using grey granite sourced from Winnsboro, South Carolina, and finished with red Brazilian marble inside. These imported and local materials together demonstrate the architects' goal of creating a structure of national importance.
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