J. Marvin Jones Federal Building and United States Courthouse, Art Deco courthouse in downtown Amarillo, Texas.
The J. Marvin Jones Federal Building is a three-story concrete courthouse with a full basement, clad in light buff limestone, facing Courthouse Square in downtown Amarillo. Its thirteen-bay front is symmetrical, with set-back windows and fluted pilasters framing two entries that rise about forty feet. A mottled pink and black Texas granite base sits behind grade-level gratings.
Built in 1937 and 1938 as the Amarillo U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, the building was designed by Texas architect Wyatt C. Hedrick, with Louis A. Simon of the U.S. Treasury Department as supervising architect and Algernon Blair of Montgomery, Alabama as contractor. It housed postal services, courtrooms and other federal offices until the central post office moved out in 1977. It was renamed for U.S. Court of Claims judge John Marvin Jones in 1980, and in 2018 received the name of federal judge Mary Lou Robinson. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.
Julius Woeltz of New Orleans won a competition to paint the Main Lobby murals, the building's best-preserved interior feature. The lobby is small, and the District Courtroom and some service areas also keep their historic fabric. Most other interiors were altered in the 1970s for air conditioning and post office renovations.
The building sits in the downtown area and is easily accessible from main streets; bring sunscreen on bright days since the limestone exterior reflects significant light. Public areas inside are accessible for visitors interested in viewing the interior design and lobby.
The building was renamed in 2018 to honor Mary Lou Robinson, a federal judge, having been named for U.S. Court of Claims judge John Marvin Jones in 1980. A 1992 wheelchair ramp at the Main Lobby entry reused the same mottled pink and black Texas granite as the original construction.
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