| Lubbock Post Office and Federal Building | |
| Location: | 800 Broadway, Lubbock, Texas |
| Coordinates: | 33.585°N -101.8431°W |
| Locmap Label: | Lubbock Post Office and Federal Building |
| Locmap Relief: | yes |
| Builder: | William McDonald Construction Co. |
| Architect: | James A. Wetmore |
| Architecture: | Classical Revival |
| Added: | February 17, 1995 |
| Area: | less than one acre |
| Refnum: | 95000101 |
The Lubbock Post Office and Federal Building, located at 800 Broadway in downtown Lubbock, Texas, was a post office and federal courthouse from 1932 to 1968.[1]
Federal funds were obtained through the Public Buildings Act of 1926 to construct a new federal courthouse in Lubbock, Texas. Construction began in 1931 and the building was completed in 1932 at a cost of $4.7 million. The United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas met here until 1968, after which time it was used by Lubbock County for offices and storage.[1] A lack of proper building maintenance led to its abandonment in 1998.[2]
The building was nominated and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.[3] In 2011, Preservation Texas, a nonprofit preservation group, listed it as one of the most endangered historic sites in Texas.[3]
In 2013, Lubbock's Commissioners Court put the building up for sale and Appaloosa Development of Lubbock offered $500,000 but then backed out of the deal.[4] More recently John Thompson (Austin) and Jeff Sagansky (New York) of Elm Tree Partners and John Snyder (Oklahoma) have offered $425,000 for the 28000square feet building.[5] The offer was accepted by Lubbock County Commissioners and plans are to convert the building to apartment or hotel rooms, dining, or office space.[5]
The 3-story building was designed in the late Classical Revival style, which can be seen in its symmetrical plan and its ornamentation.[6] While the first floor has a limestone exterior, the second and third floors have a buff brick exterior designed to resemble an Italian Renaissance palazzo.[6]