In 1874 construction began on Lincoln's first U.S. Post Office
and Courthouse on
a block originally intended as a market square. The building was
completed by 1879 at a
cost of about. $200,000. Alfred B. Mullet, supervising architect
of the U.S. Treasury and
his successor, William Appleton Potter, prepared the design. The
building is of brick,
faced with Nebraska limestone, and blends Gothic Revival and French
Second Empire
styles.
In 1906, when a new post office and courthouse was completed
on the northeast
corner of this block, the federal government sold the old building
to the city for $50,000.
It served as Lincoln's city hall until 1969, when a new county-city
building was
occupied. Deed provisions required Old City Hall to remain in
municipal use or it would
revert to federal ownership.
In 1969 Old City Hall was one of the first Lincoln buildings
listed in the National
Register of Historic Places. The Lincoln/Lancaster County Historical
Society advocated
its preservation, and federal, city, and community support accomplished
its renovation.
It continues to house city and community agencies.
Lincoln-Lancaster County Historical Society
Nebraska State Historical Society
NW corner of 10th and "O" Sts.,
Lincoln, Nebraska
Marker 441