proponents of  academic classicism 209
more than 400 federal buildings that were designed during this pe-
riod, the number of Tarsney Act projects was small. In addition, the
number of architects and architectural firms that participated in the
federal architecture program was even smaller because several firms,
such as Rankin & Kellogg, were selected to design more than one
building. The benefits of the Tarsney Act reached only a small, elite
group of architectural firms.
As already mentioned, the bulk of the design work during Taylor s
period was still under the control of the Supervising Architect s
Office. Most of these buildings were modest post offices, while a
smaller number contained judicial, customs, and other federal func-
tions. It included modest-sized buildings such as the courthouse and
post office in Altoona, Pennsylvania (figure 7.14) as well as major
structures, such as the courthouse, post office, and custom house in
Los Angeles (figures 7.15 and 7.16). Appropriations for their construc-
Figure 7.14
tion provided for whole groups of buildings, which were justified ac-
U.S. courthouse and post
cording to levels of postal receipts and federal activities in the locali-
office, Altoona,
ties. Nearly all the federal buildings designed under Taylor can be
Pennsylvania, 1900 1902,
classified as classical or colonial revival. By the turn of the century,
James Knox Taylor.
these styles were well entrenched in the architectural vocabulary
Courtesy National
throughout the country. The early buildings designed under the Archives.