Detroit Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse
231 W. Lafayette Blvd., Detroit, MI 48226
Old City Hall: This was the first home of the United States District Court for the District of Michigan. Court
was held here in Old City Hall located in the middle of Cadillac Square in Detroit from 1837
through 1838 when the Court began a series of moves to temporary facilities.
Custom House Building: In 1861 a new building was finally completed to house Customs, the U.S. courts, the post office
and steamboat inspectors. By 1880 the building was too small for all its agencies and a new building was authorized.
1897 Post Office Building: The building took fifteen years to complete and housed the post office, federal agencies and two beautiful courtrooms. It, too, was deemed to be too small to hold the growing number of agencies and employees and even though an addition was constructed in 1913, Congress authorized a new building.
in 1930, the Detroit Post Office and Federal Building. The 1897 Post Office Building was demolished in 1931 and construction of the new building was finally complete in 1934. Originally designed to have twelve floors, the finished building had only ten. Space quickly grew to be an issue; the Post Office moved out in the mid-1960s and other federal agencies also left throughout the next two decades.
With the Court remaining as the sole occupant Congress approved the renaming of the building as “The Theodore Levin UnitedStates Courthouse” in 1995.
1837
1861
1897
1934