Building during renovation

 
As the original United States Courthouse and Post Office approached its 100th birthday, the building was a deteriorating structure without purpose and it seemed without a future. It had lost many of its federal functions to a new United States Post Office and a new Courthouse. Most of the remaining tenants had moved out by 1977. Bricker & Eckler was determined to save the building and restore it to its original grandeur. The City of Columbus purchased the building from the U.S. General Services Administration in 1985 and now leases it to the firm. Bricker & Eckler LLP undertook the renovation project. Unique renovation problems ranged from installing modern plumbing, wiring and air conditioning without marring the structure's appearance, to preserving and adding marble wainscot and oak paneling, to finding sufficient space for an extensive law library. Much of the renovation work focused on undoing "modernizations" or "improvements:" economies undertaken by the federal government in earlier years. Suspended acoustic ceilings installed many years ago concealed stunning high ceiling featuring ornate designs. The low ceilings were removed, as were similarly inappropriate vinyl tile floors.