Its role as the first courthouse in which many key cases of the Civil Rights Movement were heard had it listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

To meet increased demands for federal services, Congress approved funds for a new building containing both postal and courthouse functions.

When ground was broken in 1907, workers discovered a natural rock formation that resembled an American eagle, which observers interpreted to mean that the federal building was destined for the site.

James Knox Taylor, supervising architect of the U.S. Treasury Department, designed the building, which was completed in 1910 and deemed by the press to be "a great step forward in the scheme of beautifying Atlanta.

"[2] When the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals was established in 1981, it occupied the building, which was renamed in 1989 to honor Elbert Parr Tuttle (1897–1996), a renowned federal judge.

In 2000, the court upheld the U.S. Government's decision that Elian Gonzalez, a Cuban boy who was rescued off the Florida coast after his mother died during an attempt to enter the United States, should be returned to the custody of his father, in Cuba.

In Bush v. Gore, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a petition to stop manual recounts of ballots.

[2] James Knox Taylor designed the Elbert P. Tuttle U.S. Court of Appeals Building in the Second Renaissance Revival style of architecture.

Some windows contain carved serpent-and-staff designs, which were associated with Mercury, the Roman messenger god who was an early symbol of the postal service in the United States.

A mural by an unknown artist depicts a classical seated figure of Justice flanked by allegorical representations of Agriculture and Industry.