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Building, Detroit, since 1934

U.S. Post Office, Court House, and Custom House

Photographed standing in 2010

Theodore Levin United States Courthouse Detroit MI Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Opened
1934
Style
Moderne
Standing
92 years

The U.S. Post Office, Court House, and Custom House has stood on W Lafayette Boulevard in Detroit since 1934, 92 years and counting. Who built it, what makes it special and how to see it for yourself.

On the map

More photos of U.S. Post Office, Court House, and Custom House

Title: Details from the "million dollar courthouse," the Theodore Levin United States Courthouse, Detroit Federal..., 2010 Photo: Carol M. Highsmith, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Title: Details from the "million dollar courthouse," the Theodore Levin United States Courthouse, Detroit Federal..., 2010 Photo: Carol M. Highsmith, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Title: Details from the "million dollar courthouse," the Theodore Levin United States Courthouse, Detroit Federal..., 2010 Photo: Carol M. Highsmith, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

What is there now

Standing

We checked building permits, sales, listings and the city's blight and demolition files on October 25, 2026. Nothing new at this address in the last two years.

The story

By Victoria Jackson, Editor in Chief Updated

The U.S. Post Office, Court House, and Custom House opened in 1934, as Detroit pushed through the Depression.

It was built in the Moderne style, and it still reads that way from the sidewalk.

It joined the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.

Go see it at 231 W Lafayette Boulevard. Photos never get the scale right.

The Theodore Levin United States Courthouse (also known as the Detroit Federal Building) is a large high-rise courthouse and office building located at 231 West Lafayette Boulevard in downtown Detroit, Michigan. The structure occupies an entire block, girdled by Shelby Street (east), Washington Boulevard (west), West Fort Street (south), and West Lafayette Boulevard (north).

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Timeline

  1. 1934 Built Moderne
  2. 2018 Listed on the National Register April 27, 2018
  3. 2026 Today 92 years and still standing

Where it is

231 W Lafayette Boulevard

On this map

  1. U.S. Post Office, Court House, and Custom House This place
  2. Theodore J. Levin U.S. Courthouse Next door
  3. Lafayette Building 180 ft
  4. Shubert-Lafayette Theatre 190 ft
  5. Owen Building 260 ft
  6. Recreation Building 260 ft
  7. Cass Theatre 260 ft
  8. Federal Reserve Bank 300 ft
  9. 211 West Fort Street 310 ft

Street map from OpenStreetMap contributors

More from Detroit in the 1930s

Around the block

Photo credits

Every photo on this page is used under its license, named here with its author and a link to the original.

  1. Theodore Levin United States Courthouse Detroit MI Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  2. Title: Details from the "million dollar courthouse," the Theodore Levin United States Courthouse, Detroit Federal..., 2010 Photo: Carol M. Highsmith, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
  3. Title: Details from the "million dollar courthouse," the Theodore Levin United States Courthouse, Detroit Federal..., 2010 Photo: Carol M. Highsmith, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
  4. Title: Details from the "million dollar courthouse," the Theodore Levin United States Courthouse, Detroit Federal..., 2010 Photo: Carol M. Highsmith, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
  5. Detroit Post Office, ca 1900. Romanesque revival style, built in 1891 Photo: public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
  6. Title: First floor lobby, Theodore Levin United States Courthouse, Detroit Federal Building, Detroit, Michigan Physical..., 2010 Photo: Carol M. Highsmith, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Sources

Facts only, gathered from these sources. The story above is written by Rebuild Detroit. Every photo names its author and license where it appears.