San Francisco’s own U.S. Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit received national attention after it played a prominent role in federal politics this year. Intended to represent the affluence and increasing importance of the United States as it became a world power, this 1905 gem, located at the corner of Mission and Seventh streets, has been standing strong as a symbol of justice for over 100 years. It is considered one of the most ornate public buildings in the west…
The building was again tested by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, but this time it was severely damaged.
The restoration efforts resulted in a full seismic retrofitting, as well as conversion of the former post office into a law library by noted design team Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, that took several years to finish. In 1996, it finally opened again as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Judge James R. Browning, a circuit court for over four decades, was honored as the building’s namesake in 2005. Today it is now known as the James R. Browning U.S. Court of Appeals Building.