Copies of the memorandum were sent to the office of the Attorney General, the Treasury Department and the Committee on Territories in both the House and the Senate.

[3] Ground-breaking ceremonies on March 3, 1937, marked the end of years of continuous struggle by local agencies to obtain a new federal building.

The post office occupied the entire L-shaped first floor, with service and lock box lobbies spanning the length of each wing.

[2] In the 1950s, the movie Cry Vengeance was filmed in the Ketchikan Federal Building and the original layout of the first floor lobby can be seen in some of the scenes.

Intact historical interior elements include window trim; some doors, frames and trim; the entry vestibule floor and wall finishes; the courtroom and adjacent lobby, judge's chambers, and clerk of court's office; the elevator doors; and the northeast stair.

These murals are believed to have been transferred from magazines and painted by prisoners who were members of the Tlingit and Haida Alaskan Indian tribes in the early 1980s.

[2] Local newspaper articles at the time of its dedication described the Federal Building in Ketchikan, Alaska as "inside and out, the structure is plain and practical."

[2][4] Pioneered by European architects shortly after World War I, the International Style rejected the ornate designs of previous eras, turning instead to a streamlined, modern approach for buildings.

The original steps at the main entry have been altered by the addition of a functional but insensitively designed off-center ramp with painted free-standing metal handrails.

The concrete wall surfaces have a rubbed finish and are smooth except for continuous horizontal reveals at the heights of window sills and heads on each floor level.

The building was painted pink in 1990, at the request of the newly built Cape Fox Lodge; the color was decided upon by a local committee.

The main entry doors are framed by a slightly protruding concrete surround that matches the base element.