US Post Office (aka Ottumwa Municipal Building)
The Federal Building, now City Hall, located on the east side of Central Park, was designed by Treasury Department architects under the direction of James Knox Taylor to replace a small brick Post Office built on the same site in 1890. The Federal Building was completed in 1912 and used as a post office and court building until 1964. On June 17, 1966 the building became the Ottumwa City Hall.
The building is Renaissance Revival in style, executed in ashlar limestone. The first story features a limestone facing tooled in horizontal striations. Arch tops accent the windows.
(Right) View of the Ottumwa City Hall from Third Street.
The interior first floor was altered in 1965 to accommodate city government. The second and third stories retain much of the original decor, including the court room and allied offices.
A white marble staircase with solid brass handrails leads to the second and third floors. Corridor floors in the upper stories are terazzo with white marble borders. Plaster ceilings are shaped with vertical columns and horizontal beams.
Court and 4th Streets - Ottumwa, IA
- Historic Significance: Architecture/Engineering
- Architect, builder, or engineer: Taylor,James Knox
- Architectural Style: Renaissance
- Area of Significance: Architecture
- Period of Significance: 1900-1924
- Owner: Local Gov't
- Historic Function: Government
- Historic Sub-function: Post Office
- Current Function: Government
- Current Sub-function: Government Office
It is on the National Register of Historic Places.