Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building
Encyclopedia
The Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building (also known as the Federal Office Building, the Celebrezze Building, or the Federal Building for short) is a skyscraper
located in downtown
Cleveland, Ohio
. Designed by the firms of Outcault, Guenther, Rode & Bonebrake, Schafer, Flynn & Van Dijk, and Dalton, Dalton, Little, and Newport, the building has 32 stories, rises to a height of 419 foot, 1007000 square feet (93,553.4 m²) of space,and is located at 1240 East 9th Street. Huber Hunt and Nicols served as general architects and contractors. It was completed in 1967 and houses U.S. government agency offices.
Named after Cleveland's 49th mayor, U.S. Secretary for Health, Education, and Welfare and Federal appeals judge Anthony J. Celebrezze
, the Federal Building is typical of the modern, commercial office buildings of the 1960s. It displays strength in design through a purity and rich variety of materials.
When construction began, protesters demonstrated against the lack of minority contractors. Problems with the foundation delayed construction. As the building was being built, a piece of the building's stainless-steel skin fell, hitting a parked car on Lakeside Avenue. As Federal agencies were moving in 1967-68, a fire hose on the 25th floor burst and water caused damage.
The building is wrapped in a skin of stainless steel
and glass
. It is lifted by a base of four recessed rectilinear marble
volumes, resting upon a field of rough cut slate
and granite
. Walls of glass stretch taut between two larger end volumes, creating an interior lobby and plazas to the east and west with the smaller volumes encasing double-sided elevator shafts.
Construction for the Federal Building began with the demolition of the Old Central Armory and the Cuyahoga County Morgue. The Armory building was designed by Lehman and Schmitt and constructed in 1896. It was made in a late Victorian
style with a Gothic
exterior. The Morgue, constructed in 1894, showed examples of Egyptian Revival architecture
.
Between 2003 and 2006, The Cleveland Federal Building massively renovated its entrances. The original entrances were cold and foreboding, but have recently have been glass-enclosed and modernized for today's security and comfort. When the Federal Building opened in 1967, the biggest problem was winds off Lake Erie
. People would have to hold on by pull ropes on the railings of the steps. In Cleveland's brutal winters of 1976-77 and 1977-78, the GSA placed plexiglas covers for shielding due to winds. In 2008, a new fire alarm system was installed, leaks in the roof over the underground cafeteria were repaired, and new landscaping was installed. In 2011, work is scheduled to begin on a new exterior which will increase the energy efficiency of the building. Funding for the $121 million project will come from the 2009 economic stimulus package
.
In 2002, the Cleveland FBI office, which serves Northeast Ohio, moved from the Federal Building to its own offices a block away due to safety and security logistics. When the FBI arrested a criminal, they had to ride in the same elevators as people who had business in the building.
Federal agencies with offices in the building include the Defense Finance and Accounting Service
, the Coast Guard
Ninth District Command Center, recruiting offices for the Armed Forces
, the Small Business Administration
, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Social Security Administration
.
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
located in downtown
Downtown Cleveland
Downtown Cleveland is the central business district of the City of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. Reinvestment in the area in the mid-1990s spurred a rebirth that continues to this day, with over $2 billion in residential and commercial developments slated for the area over the next few years...
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. Designed by the firms of Outcault, Guenther, Rode & Bonebrake, Schafer, Flynn & Van Dijk, and Dalton, Dalton, Little, and Newport, the building has 32 stories, rises to a height of 419 foot, 1007000 square feet (93,553.4 m²) of space,and is located at 1240 East 9th Street. Huber Hunt and Nicols served as general architects and contractors. It was completed in 1967 and houses U.S. government agency offices.
Named after Cleveland's 49th mayor, U.S. Secretary for Health, Education, and Welfare and Federal appeals judge Anthony J. Celebrezze
Anthony J. Celebrezze
Anthony Joseph Celebrezze Sr. was an Italian American politician of the Democratic Party, who served as the 49th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, as a cabinet member in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, and as a U.S. appeals court judge....
, the Federal Building is typical of the modern, commercial office buildings of the 1960s. It displays strength in design through a purity and rich variety of materials.
When construction began, protesters demonstrated against the lack of minority contractors. Problems with the foundation delayed construction. As the building was being built, a piece of the building's stainless-steel skin fell, hitting a parked car on Lakeside Avenue. As Federal agencies were moving in 1967-68, a fire hose on the 25th floor burst and water caused damage.
The building is wrapped in a skin of stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
and glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
. It is lifted by a base of four recessed rectilinear marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
volumes, resting upon a field of rough cut slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
and granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
. Walls of glass stretch taut between two larger end volumes, creating an interior lobby and plazas to the east and west with the smaller volumes encasing double-sided elevator shafts.
Construction for the Federal Building began with the demolition of the Old Central Armory and the Cuyahoga County Morgue. The Armory building was designed by Lehman and Schmitt and constructed in 1896. It was made in a late Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
style with a Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
exterior. The Morgue, constructed in 1894, showed examples of Egyptian Revival architecture
Egyptian Revival architecture
Egyptian Revival is an architectural style that uses the motifs and imagery of ancient Egypt. It is attributed generally to the public awareness of ancient Egyptian monuments generated by Napoleon's conquest of Egypt and Admiral Nelson's defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of the Nile during 1798....
.
Between 2003 and 2006, The Cleveland Federal Building massively renovated its entrances. The original entrances were cold and foreboding, but have recently have been glass-enclosed and modernized for today's security and comfort. When the Federal Building opened in 1967, the biggest problem was winds off Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
. People would have to hold on by pull ropes on the railings of the steps. In Cleveland's brutal winters of 1976-77 and 1977-78, the GSA placed plexiglas covers for shielding due to winds. In 2008, a new fire alarm system was installed, leaks in the roof over the underground cafeteria were repaired, and new landscaping was installed. In 2011, work is scheduled to begin on a new exterior which will increase the energy efficiency of the building. Funding for the $121 million project will come from the 2009 economic stimulus package
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.To...
.
In 2002, the Cleveland FBI office, which serves Northeast Ohio, moved from the Federal Building to its own offices a block away due to safety and security logistics. When the FBI arrested a criminal, they had to ride in the same elevators as people who had business in the building.
Federal agencies with offices in the building include the Defense Finance and Accounting Service
Defense Finance and Accounting Service
The Defense Finance and Accounting Service is an agency of the United States Department of Defense that provides finance and accounting services for the civil and military members of the Department. Headquartered in Indianapolis, IN, it was activated on Jan. 18, 1991...
, the Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
Ninth District Command Center, recruiting offices for the Armed Forces
Military of the United States
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
, the Small Business Administration
Small Business Administration
The Small Business Administration is a United States government agency that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and strengthen the nation's economy by enabling the establishment and viability of small businesses...
, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Social Security Administration
Social Security Administration
The United States Social Security Administration is an independent agency of the United States federal government that administers Social Security, a social insurance program consisting of retirement, disability, and survivors' benefits...
.