Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse

U.S. Courthouse
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
New York State Register of Historic Places
New York City Landmark No. 0883
(2009)
Location	40 Centre Street Manhattan, New York City
Coordinates	landmark_region:US-NY 40°42′49″N 74°0′10″W / 40.71361°N 74.00278°W / 40.71361; -74.00278
Built	1932–1936
Architect	Cass Gilbert, Cass Gilbert Jr.
Architectural style	Classical Revival
NRHP reference No.	87001596[1]
NYSRHP No.	06101.003318
NYCL No.	0883
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	September 2, 1987
Designated NYSRHP	August 2, 1982[2]
Designated NYCL	March 25, 1975

The Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse (originally the United States Courthouse or the Foley Square Courthouse) is a 37-story courthouse at 40 Centre Street on Foley Square in the Civic Center neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City, United States. Opened in 1936, the building was designed by Cass Gilbert and his son, Cass Gilbert Jr., in the Classical Revival style. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York hear cases in the courthouse, which is across the street from the Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York City. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a New York City designated landmark.

The building is divided into two parts: a six-story base and a 31-story office tower. The facade of the structure is made of gray Minnesota granite. The base of the courthouse, built around three interior courtyards, occupies an irregular lot. The main entrance on Centre Street contains a portico accessed by massive granite steps, while the remainder of the base contains flat pilasters. A square tower, recessed from the base, rises to a small setback on the 27th floor and a pyramidal roof above the 30th. The main hall, spanning the width of the building along Centre Street, is decorated with marble floors and walls and a coffered ceiling. The building also contains 35 courtrooms, as well as a double-height library on the 25th floor.

The courthouse was proposed in 1928 because of overcrowding at the City Hall Post Office and Courthouse. Construction began in July 1932 and lasted three and a half years; it was among the first federal skyscrapers constructed. After Gilbert's death, his son Cass Gilbert Jr. supervised construction. The building opened on January 15, 1936, and was renovated in the 1990s. The United States Congress passed a bill renaming the building in honor of former United States Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall in 2001, and the courthouse was rededicated on April 15, 2003. The building underwent extensive renovations from 2006 to 2013.