Strom Thurmond Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse
National Register Listing
Street Address:
1835-1845 Assembly St., Columbia, SC (Richland County)
Alternate Name:
Strom Thurmond Federal Complex
NRHP Nomination Form
Record Number:
S10817740157
Description and Narrative:
The Strom Thurmond Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse complex is architecturally significant for its representation of the work of Modern Master Architect Marcel Breuer and for its exceptional importance as a significant example of the Brutalist style of architecture. It is the only federal complex in South Carolina to be designed by Marcel Breuer and his design collaborator, Herbert Beckhard, as well as the only federal complex within the state's capital city of Columbia to be designed and constructed in the Brutalist architectural style. James C. Hemphill, Jr. was contracted by Marcel Breuer and Associates to assist in the design and construction of the complex. Hemphill's office base in Charlotte made him more readily available than Breuer and Associates, who were based in New York City, to assist in any on-site issues that arose throughout the design and construction process. The design of the office building and courthouse incorporates features of the Brutalist style of architecture, including rough, exposed exterior concrete walls, deeply recessed windows, and a weighty massiveness. The windows are deeply recessed instead of flush with the exterior walls of the building. Broad, expansive wall surfaces in a combination of voids created by the window openings give the walls an "egg-crate" appearance, a characteristic often found in Brutalist architecture. The Strom Thurmond Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse complex is a formative design in the portfolio of Breuer, whose designs had a profound influence on architecture in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, both nationally and internationally. The complex was one of the last projects designed by Breuer and his collaborator Beckhard, and shares many similarities of Breuer and Beckhard's more nationally known federal buildings. Listed in the National Register September 10, 2014.
Period of Significance:
1975 – 1979;1975;1979
Level of Significance:
Local
Area of Significance:
Architecture
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
2014-09-10
Date of Boundary Increase:
No Boundary Increase
County:
Richland County
