Frank E. Moss Federal Courthouse and United States Courthouse for the District of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah.

Built in 1931, the last year of the Hoover Administration, this classic courthouse is nestled in downtown Salt Lake City.   The current name is much more recent, coming from a long serving Utah Senator who retired in 1977.

Just behind this classic revival style courthouse is a large modern office building which is the current United States Courthouse for the District of Utah, which has the local nickname of the "Borg Cube" due to its modern architecture, and in obvious reference to the characters from Star Trek.  That also forms a fairly effective commentary on what the public thinks of modern style courthouses, so I don't need to add to that, and could hardly do so more effectively.

Detail from the Frank E. Moss Courthouse

While most of the court's functions have moved to the new courthouse, the old one continues to house the bankruptcy court.

US Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Oklahoma, Tulsa Oklahoma

United States Bankruptcy Court, Denver Colorado

This is the Federal Bankruptcy Courthouse in Denver, which also indicates that it is the Custom's House. I otherwise know nothing about this particular building, other than that it is next to the Federal District Courthouse in Denver, and across the corner from the Byron White Courthouse.

Ewing T. Kerr Federal Courthouse, Casper Wyoming

This is another Depression Era Wyoming courthouse, although it's roots are to be found in the era of oil fueled economic expansion that started during World War One. Funding for the courthouse came from a 1926 appropriations act that funded a variety of courthouses around the nation. The cornerstone, however, was set in 1931 and the courthouse completed in 1932.

This courthouse actually has seen as much use as a post office as it has as a courthouse. The original building housed all of the principal Federal offices in Casper, Wyoming, including the post office (my father worked there in the mid 1940s). A courtroom was a feature of the building, but the concept of a Federal courthouse was somewhat different at the time. There was no sitting Federal judge and the courtroom was instead simply available for a Federal judge, the concept being that the single Federal judge in Cheyenne would need to travel to outlying towns and cities to hear cases. There were also Federal courthouses, in this era, in Green River, Lander, and Yellowstone National Park. This courthouse also housed such Federal employees as the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps recruiters.

In the 1970s the post office moved to a new large Federal building that was built some blocks away. At that time, the enormous Depression era murals that were in the building were removed and reinstalled in the new post office. The mail boxes, which dominated the first floor, were also moved. A few Federal offices remained in the building, however, such as the United States Geological Survey which I briefly worked for in the 1980s.

By the late 1980s Wyoming's Federal Courts had expanded to the point where there were then three sitting Federal judges, all in Cheyenne. This then lead to the view that it was time to relocate one of the judges to Casper. The courthouse was remodeled in the late 80s with this in mind, and it is now a purpose designated courthouse, with offices limited to the judiciary or the U.S. Attorneys. The Federal District Court courtroom is widely regarded as one of the most attractive in Wyoming, and a second smaller courtroom, used principally by the Bankruptcy Court, is also well appointed, if quite small.

The building obtained its current name after the remodeling, and it is now named for longtime late Federal Judge, Ewing T. Kerr.

If you are summoned to a Federal (not state) jury in Casper, Wyoming, this is where you go.

Federal Courthouse, as viewed from my office in the Consolidated Royalty Building.