E. Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse
- Year
- 1949
- Style
- Stripped Classicism
- City
- Washington, DC
The E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse on Constitution Avenue was one of the last buildings raised in the Judiciary Square and Municipal Center complex, a civic enclave dating to the 1820s. President Harry S. Truman laid the cornerstone on June 27, 1950, and the building opened in November 1952, housing the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
the building
Home to the FISA Court. Since 2009 the courthouse has also served as the meeting location for the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, alongside its regular district and appellate court functions.
the style
The building is an almost entirely unaltered example of early-1950s Stripped Classicism, a pared-down, non-representational take on classical form that spread through federal architecture after World War II.
significance
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the courthouse is a contributing property to the Pennsylvania Avenue Historic District and a rare intact survivor of its Stripped Classicism moment.
nearby
- Henry J. Daly Building
- Canadian Chancery
- East Building of the National Gallery of Art
- Old City Hall (District of Columbia Court of Appeals)
- United States Tax Court
- Federal Trade Commission Building