Federal Building at Ruston

The Federal Building designed in 1906 and completed in 1909 was originally the Ruston Post Office. It was the first building in Ruston of Indiana limestone and today, the Ruston State Bank (another National Historical landmark) is the only other building of this material in the parish.

The original floor plan for the post office had the office of the post master in the southeast corner and adjoining it in the center of the south end was a room for valuable packages. The remainder of the first floor was a large room for assorting the mail. The customer boxes were on the east wall of this room and were accessed by the customers via a narrow lobby extending from the Post Master's office to the north wall. This lobby was entered by the east door from the Vienna Street side. A circular steel stairway extended from the basement to the attic. The basement contained a boiler, heating equipment and storage for coal. The attic was not used.

The building was vacated in 1961 and in 1963 was remodeled into its present form as a federal office building by McInnis Bros. Inc. Contractors, Minden, Louisiana. The renovation created a conference room, a rest room, and three storage rooms in the basement. The first floor was re-partitioned into nine offices with two rest rooms. And the attic, previously unused, had the air-conditioning machinery placed there. The renovation also included lowering the ceiling about three feet.

The information for this site was provided by the Division of Historic Preservation, Louisiana. Without their assistance this page would not have been possible. If you have any other information about this place please email me: David A Lewis.

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