The James A. Walsh United States Courthouse, also or formerly named U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, is a historic post office and courthouse building located at Tucson at Pima County, Arizona. It was a courthouse of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona.Building historyThe building was constructed during 1929-1930 as a U.S. Post Office and Courthouse. Acting Supervising Architect of the Treasury, James A. Wetmore, designed the building in 1928-1929. Planning for the building began in 1910, when the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill authorizing the purchase of a site for a new post office in Tucson. That was the same year that the statehood bill, discussed since Congress deemed Arizona worthy of statehood in 1888, finally passed the House of Representatives. Still, Arizona did not become a state until 1912. It would be another 20 years before the building was constructed.When the Treasury Department failed to act, the city purchased the site recommended by the federal site agent who visited Tucson in 1911, and the city donated the property to the federal government. Delays continued because by this time Congress had instituted a moratorium on construction due to negative publicity surrounding the awarding of building contracts. In the interim, the federal government leased out the land and a gas station and other businesses occupied the parcel. Congress lifted the construction moratorium in 1926. The appropriation for design and construction of the building occurred in 1928.
