Federal Aviation Administration Records Center | |
Location | 300 W. King St., Martinsburg, West Virginia |
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Coordinates | 39°27′25″N 77°58′00″W / 39.4569°N 77.9667°W |
Built | 1892 |
Architectural style | Romanesque Revival |
Website | http://www.theartcentre.org |
NRHP reference No. | 74001995 |
Added to NRHP | September 10, 1974[1] |
The Federal Aviation Administration Records Center in Martinsburg, West Virginia is the former United States Courthouse and Post Office for the city. It is a Richardson Romanesque style building, principally designed by Willoughby J. Edbrooke, of the Office of the Supervising Architect.[2] It was used as a federal courthouse and post office from 1895 to 1961, when both functions moved across the street to a new facility. The building to some extent resembles Henry Hobson Richardson's now-destroyed Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce Building.[3]
The Federal Aviation Administration occupied the building in 1970, primarily as an emergency relocation center for Washington-based operations, then vacated the building in the 1990s. The blast-resistant construction and communications facilities are still visible in the basement.[4] During the Cold War, the Justice Department and essential operations staff of the Federal Bureau of Investigation planned to use the building's top floors as an emergency relocation center.[5]
The building was partly renovated as an arts center. It is part of the Downtown Martinsburg Historic District and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.[1]