The 13-story Art Deco building allegedly scouted by Timothy McVeigh

The Federal Office Building, also known as the Old Federal Building, is a thirteen story, stripped classical style building with Art Deco elements located in Downtown Omaha, Nebraska. It was designed and built from 1932–34 by architects Thomas R. Kimball, William L. Steele, and Josiah D. Sandham as part of the firm Kimball, Steele & Sandham, and associated architect George B. Prinz. It was built on the site of the first U.S. Courthouse and Post Office.

The building was announced in March 1929 to consolidate several agencies. It received federal approval in February 1931, but construction was delayed that same month due to opposition to the United States Department of War. Development officially began in May 1931, and the building was officially dedicated in February 1934. For decades, it was a hive of paperwork, taxes, and military logistics, housing the US Weather Bureau, the IRS, the Department of Agriculture, Civil Service Commission, Customs Service, Army, and Navy.

In 1995, the building was allegedly examined as a target by Timothy McVeigh prior to his involvement in the Oklahoma City Bombing. However, the FBI stated there was little evidence to prove that he was in fact in the building. The US Army Corps of Engineers, the final federal occupant, moved out in July 2008. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 19, 2009.

In December 2011, the building was sold to developers for $23 million and converted into a 152-room hotel. The hotel opened to guests in October 2013. In order to keep the building on the National Register of Historic Places, the exterior facade remains the same. Inside, the building retains original features such as terrazzo marble floors.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons