William Kenzo Nakamura United States Courthouse
- Architect
- Gilbert Stanley Underwood
- Year
- 1940
- Style
- Art Deco
- City
- Seattle, WA
- Collection
- seattle deco
This 10-story Art Deco courthouse at 1010 Fifth Avenue was approved by Congress in 1936 and completed in 1940 as the United States Courthouse in Seattle, consolidating federal agencies under one roof. Designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood, it was renamed in 2001 for William Kenzo Nakamura, a Medal of Honor recipient, and today is used primarily by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
the building
Courtrooms and the lawn. The building holds 5 courtrooms and is one of four regular meeting places where the Ninth Circuit hears appeals from its northern districts. It overlooks a large sloping lawn, landscaped with a central walkway, planters, hedges, and oak trees, that has become one of downtown Seattle's more significant public green spaces.
From tenant to principal occupant. The Ninth Circuit began using the building in the 1970s but only became its principal tenant in 2004, after most other federal users moved to the new 23-story United States Courthouse in the Denny Triangle.
the style
The building mixes Neoclassical and modern abstract features within its overall Art Deco design.
More on Art Decosignificance
Built as the first single-purpose federal courthouse in the western United States, the building was renamed in 2001 to honor Medal of Honor recipient William Kenzo Nakamura and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
nearby
- Rainier Club
- YWCA Building
- Seattle Central Library
- IBM Building
- Town Hall Seattle (Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist)
- Rainier Club