One of the last buildings by the elder Cass Gilbert, this courthouse combines a monumental portico with a tower topped by terra cotta and gold leaf, recalling the designs of Gilbert`s nearby Woolworth and New York Life buildings.Renamed in 2001 after the nation's 1st black Supreme Court Justice who was nominated by JFK to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in 1961.

Gilbert intended the pedestals to bear two monumental sculptural groups, but they were never executed. Ten four-story Corinthian columns form the imposing portico that shelters the entrance, and the frieze is carved with a detailed floral design.&nbsp;The ends of the entablature above are embellished with roundels, designed to resemble ancient coins, on which are carved the heads of four ancient lawgivers: Plato, Aristotle, Demosthenes, and Moses. The Corinthian capitals crowning the columns of the portico return to top pilasters along the building's other primary facades. Minnesota granite, off-white in color and mottled with peach and gray, was used to finish the exterior elevations of the courthouse.

Sixteen courtrooms are original to the courthouse: five in the base and eleven in the tower, including the historic United States Court of Appeals courtroom  

The Greek key molding seen in the main hall also enframes the ceilings of the tower courtrooms. The Court of Appeals courtroom ceiling also depicts&amp;nbsp;nautical&amp;nbsp;symbols.  

Among the other motifs are grasshoppers apparently feeding on stalks of wheat, accompanied by the Greek word meta, meaning "to transform", which conveys the idea that change, even conflict, is essential to growth; there are also owls, representing wisdom, and acorns and oak leaves, signifying strength and endurance.  

Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse

 Architectural historian Gail Cornell talks about the history of the Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse in Foley Square. 