At the intersection of Forsyth and Walton Street lies the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. As a Georgia State student, besides coming to class at the Aderhold Learning Center, I typically only find myself in this part of the city to check out all the fun hole-in-the wall restaurants lining Broad Street. Very rarely do I explore beyond the typical limits of this campus, until I learned that so much of our city’s history remains right in front of me as I walk the streets of Downtown Atlanta. After discovering the courthouse, I find it quite embarrassing that I never took the time before to acknowledge this famous building, and brushed it off as if it was just another office building, or even a bank.
![a selfie of me in front of the U.S. Courthouse Plaque](https://sites.gsu.edu/historyofourstreets/files/2024/02/courthouseplaque-2fa419204bfe9e34-768x1024.jpeg)
Following the events of the Civil War, funding was approved by Congress for a building that offered both postal and legal services. The land the building was founded on was established in 1907, and was completed 3 years later in 1910. James Knox Taylor of the U.S. Treasury was the lead architect of the building and was a part of the post war efforts of, “beautifying Atlanta,”. 1
The Courthouse is another example of a common theme explored in this course so far. Far too often, I walk around campus and downtown and never bother to look around me enough to realize how much history surrounds me every day. I’m glad I was able to discover this building, and makes me feel just a bit better now that I can tell someone where the 11th Circuit Federal Appeals Court resides in our city.
- “Elbert P. Tuttle U.S. Court of Appeals Building, Atlanta, GA.” GSA. Accessed February 21, 2024. https://www.gsa.gov/real-estate/historic-preservation/explore-historic-buildings/find-a-building/all-historic-buildings/elbert-p-tuttle-us-court-of-appeals-building-atlanta-ga.
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