Federal Building (Laconia, New Hampshire)

Laconia's former Federal Building is located on the north side of downtown Laconia, on the east side of Main Street just north of its junction with the multiuse Winnisquam Trail. It is a two-story structure, built originally in a T-shape with a frame of steel and concrete. Its exterior is finished with red brick and granite, a stripped Classical Revival style. The main facade is divided into three sections, with a slightly projecting central entrance section. Its three bays are articulated by wide granite pilasters, with additional pilasters at the corners. They rise to an entablature bearing the legend "United States Department of Agriculture", and a shallow pedimented gable. Windows in the outer sections have granite sills, and the building corners have granite quoins.[2]

The structure was designed by Louis A. Simon, the Supervising Architect of the United States Treasury Department, and was built in 1939-40. It was expanded to an H shape with a sympathetic addition in 1966. It originally housed the administrative offices of the White Mountain National Forest, a division of the United States Forest Service and the United States Department of Agriculture. The building's interior reflects this intended use, with a pair of murals on forestry-related themes in its lobby, which were executed by Philip Guston and Musa McKim.[2]

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Belknap County, New Hampshire