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Photograph of Spring Street Courthouse
Photograph by Los Angeles, CC BY-SA 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

US Court House and Post Office

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. 15 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1894.

From the record

“The Spring Street Courthouse, formerly the United States Court House in Downtown Los Angeles, is a Moderne style building that originally served as both a post office and a courthouse. The building was designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood and Louis A.”

Wikipedia article Spring Street Courthouse, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 616 National Register listings published here for Los Angeles County · listed in 2006 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • Address. 312 N. Spring St., Los Angeles, 90012
  • When was it listed? February 2006
  • Category. building
  • Census division. Los Angeles
  • Architectural style. Streamline Moderne
  • National Register reference number. 06000001 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Then and now

1894 to 1979

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 85 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering US Court House and Post Office, surveyed 1979
Topographic sheet covering US Court House and Post Office, surveyed 1894

Fires near this property

223 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 223 fires within 5 miles of US Court House and Post Office between 2005 and 2020, burning about 1,238 acres in total. None started naturally. 21 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined139
Arson/incendiarism21
Smoking21
Misuse of fire by a minor20
Debris and open burning10
Equipment and vehicle use9
Railroad operations and maintenance2
Recreation and ceremony1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
6 September 2009Smoking1.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
5 September 2019Arson/incendiarismunder an acreLos Angeles County Fire Departmentnot named
5 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
5 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
3 September 2012Smokingunder an acreLos Angeles County Fire Departmentnot named
28 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
24 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresLos Angeles County Fire Departmentnot named
18 September 2012Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreLos Angeles County Fire Departmentnot named

Every fire recorded in Los Angeles County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 28 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 28 workings within 5 miles of US Court House and Post Office: 23 past producers, 3 prospects, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Limestone, General, Gold. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
CahuengaGoldProspect
L.A. MillTalc-SoapstoneProducer
Reynolds Crushed Gravel Co. PitStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
California Portland Cement CompanyLimestone, General, ClayPast Producer
Southwestern Portland Cement CoLimestone, General, ClayPast Producer
Alameda St. PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
BeyrleSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Blue Diamond Corp. - Alameda PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
City of Los AngelesSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Home Teaming and Transfer Co.Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Los Angeles County

Storms near this property

8 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Los Angeles, the town this property stands in, in 8 storm reports between 2000 and 2026: 3 flood, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 high wind, 1 tornado. The reports record 2 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
March 2023Tornado (EF1)East Los Angeles1 hurtA weak tornado developed in the community of Montebello. The EF1 tornado impacted the area around the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Maple Avenue. There was substantial damage to the industrial warehouse and commercial business district, including nearly total roof collapse in one building and a total of 17 damaged structures. Numerous vehicles were damaged due to flying debris.
February 2000Thunderstorm WindLos Angeles1 hurtno account filed
February 2026FloodLos Angeles-Heavy rain produced significant roadway flooding on Interstate 110 near West 39th Street.
February 2026Flash FloodLos Angeles-Heavy rainfall generated flash flooding near the intersection of Interstates 10 and 110.
February 2026Thunderstorm WindLos Angeles-Strong thunderstorm winds knocked down several trees in the South Los Angeles area.
March 2002High WindLos Angeles-no account filed
February 2000FloodLos Angeles-no account filed
April 2000FloodLos Angeles-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Los Angeles County

Maps showing this location

15 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the middle of the area the National Park Service maps for this listing, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Los Angeles City Hall0.1 miles2025
Federal Building0.1 miles2021
Vickrey-Brunswig Building0.1 miles1972
Plaza House0.1 miles1972
Los Angeles County Law Library0.2 miles2025
Plaza Substation0.2 miles1978

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 06000001 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Los Angeles CountyAll 616 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.