Sleek new U.S. courthouse opens in Buffalo
In this Aug. 22, 2011 file photo, the new federal court building in Niagara Square is seen in Buffalo. Credit: AP
BUFFALO -- Buffalo's new $137 million federal courthouse opened for business yesterday following four years of construction and 14 years of planning.
The egg-shaped, 10-story courthouse near City Hall downtown is encased in glass panels meant to signify the transparency of the federal judiciary and has a curved glass pavilion on which the entire text of the U.S. Constitution is etched.
Rep. Brian Higgins (D-Buffalo) said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony he would introduce legislation to name the new courthouse after Robert H. Jackson, the only Buffalo-area judge to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Jackson, a former U.S. attorney general, was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1941 and served for 13 terms.
In 1945, he took a leave for a year to serve as chief prosecutor of Nazi war criminals during the Nuremberg Trials. He died in 1954.
The sleek new courthouse has nine courtrooms, along with space for the offices of various government agencies. -- AP
Visiting Christmasland in Deer Park ... LI Works: Model trains ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV
Visiting Christmasland in Deer Park ... LI Works: Model trains ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV
