The following year, the government chose a location on the southeast corner of Broadway and Maiden Lane and subsequently demolished several existing buildings to prepare the site for new construction.

In 1988, it was renamed to honor Judge James Thomas Foley (1910-1990), who President Harry Truman appointed to the Northern District of New York in 1949.

[2] The courthouse is an excellent example of Art Deco architecture, which incorporated sleek Modern forms while retaining ornate yet stylized decorative elements.

[2] The facade, which faces west on Broadway, contains two entrances, each topped with an eagle that is more than eight feet tall and carved from a seventeen-ton Vermont marble block by New York City sculptor Albert T. Stewart, who also received the commission for the building's frieze.

Artist Benjamin Hawkins created ornate aluminum screens titled Departments of Government located behind the eagles.

To make the carvings visible to street-level viewers, Stewart created figures approximately eight feet tall and executed at a depth of nearly three inches.

A gilded plaster ceiling medallion of the United States Seal is centered in the lobby and framed by step moldings covered with aluminum leaf and gold stars.

Artist Ethel M. Parsons painted the oil-on-canvas murals in 1935, depicting each of the seven continents as well as the North Pole and the United States.

Cast-aluminum railings, also designed by Biafora, contain stylized motifs related to the functions of the building, including an airplane and scales of justice.

1, used for District Court proceedings since its construction, has Oregon maple burl paneling with exotic wood inlays and decorative aluminum grilles.

The Courtroom Lobby retains original radiator grilles, bronze Art Deco light fixtures, and marble floor and walls.