The federal government originally planned to increase courtroom space in Portland by building a 13-story annex adjacent to the Gus J. Solomon United States Courthouse.

[3] In 1992, the government shifted to the construction of a new building across the street from the Multnomah County Justice Center, where federal prisoners are held for trial.

[3] The General Services Administration chose what was then known as the Hamilton Hotel block between Second and Third avenues and Salmon and Main streets for the courthouse.

The distinctive cantilevered roof shelters a small green planting area which is visible to traffic approaching on Washington Street.

In 1994, the General Services Administration launched a five-year plan calling for the construction of hundreds of new federal facilities – courthouses, agency offices, research labs, and border stations - in the biggest public building boom ever.

This overhaul of government design was led by Edward Feiner, Chief Architect of GSA's Public Buildings Service.

The construction of the new courthouse on this site required the removal of the Hamilton Hotel, a property eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, and underground structures associated with 19th-century Chinese commercial activity in Portland.

[6] The design for the new 565,300-square-foot (52,520 m2) courthouse building is a creative, responsive and efficient solution to placing a large, complex program on a small 195' x 200' site in an important civic setting.

BOORA Architects and Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates separated the sleek limestone, steel, aluminum, and glass courthouse into two distinct volumes.

[5] An eight-story block, scaled to the height of the neighboring county courthouse building, incorporates administration offices and a law library with a roof terrace atop the 8th floor.

Below the eight-story block are two levels of below-grade parking, building service areas, and storage space built out to the edge of the perimeter sidewalks.

Behind the eight-story block, a 17-story tower contains two courtrooms per floor - each with a jury suite and judge's chambers - separated by a zone of services and circulation.

Secure corridors wrap the north, south and east sides of the courtrooms, with punched windows that admit daylight into both jury suites and courts.

The glass and steel storefront entrance is recessed at an angle from the plane of the elevation behind a row of massive pillars and is sheltered under a projecting metal canopy.

The northern half of the west elevation above the main entrance canopy consists of the 16-story smooth limestone and glass and steel curtain wall tower.

The curtain wall is divided horizontally by projecting fins at the floor plates and intermediate window mullions.

The curtain walls are divided horizontally by projecting fins at the floor plates and intermediate window mullions.

The 16th-floor level is set back from the plane of the elevation, creating another open-air rooftop terrace covered by an open canopy which is an extension of the building's vaulted metal roof.

[5] The north elevation contains two-story window openings at its base, allowing natural light into the public lobby.